appear

verb

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ap·pear | \ ə-ˈpir

appeared; appearing; appears

Definition of appear

intransitive verb

1a : to be or come in sight when the sun appears on the horizon

b : to show up He appears promptly at eight each day.

2 : to come formally before an authoritative body must appear in court today

3 : to have an outward aspect : seem She appears (to be) happy enough.

4 : to become evident or manifest There appears to be evidence to the contrary.

5 : to come into public view a performer who first appeared on a television variety show The book appeared in print a few years ago.

6 : to come into existence Hominids appeared late in the evolutionary chain.

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing appear Learn More About appear

Examples of appear in a Sentence

She appears a nice enough person. Winning the election appears unlikely at this point. One by one, the stars appeared in the sky. The sun began to appear from behind the clouds. The airplanes seemed to appear out of nowhere. The storm disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. The cat appears at our kitchen door every morning. One of the guests appeared a few minutes late. He appeared a little before eight last night. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Officials aid Clenney is expected to appear in Hilo district court at some point on Thursday in connection to the extradition. — Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 11 Aug. 2022 Heche had been scheduled to appear at the TCA panel. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2022 The partnership, the latest from online gambling players teaming with Hollywood talent, will see Ferrara co-host Unleashed, BetMGM’s weekly sports podcast, appear at BetMGM fan events and feature in upcoming BetMGM marketing campaigns. — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Aug. 2022 The two are scheduled to appear at 6 p.m. on Aug. 19 at the Blue Wolf Events Center in Youngstown. — Mike Rose, cleveland, 9 Aug. 2022 Cormier was held in lieu of a $100,000 cash/surety bond and is scheduled to appear at GA-19, Rockville Superior Court, on Monday, August 8, 2022, state police said. — Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2022 But the character, who can shape-shift during this time, is likely to appear in human form at some point. — Brendan Morrow, The Week, 2 Aug. 2022 Ron Guidry, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez highlight the Yankees alumni set to appear at Old-Timers’ Day in the Bronx prior to a matchup with the Kansas City Royals. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 30 July 2022 Powell will appear at a news conference at 2:30 p.m. — Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 27 July 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'appear.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for appear

Middle English aperen, apperen, borrowed from Anglo-French apier-, aper-, tonic stem of aparer, apareir, aparoir, going back to Latin appārēre "to come into sight, be visible, be evident," from ad- ad- + pārēre "to be visible, be evident, be subject (to), comply (with)," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin pārēre has been compared with a supposed base *peh₂-s-, suggested as the source of Avestan pišiiaṇt- "seeing," Armenian hayim "(I) look," Albanian pashë "(I) saw," though the limited nature of the evidence makes such a hypothesis speculative.

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Last Updated

15 Aug 2022

Cite this Entry

“Appear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appear. Accessed 18 Aug. 2022.

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More Definitions for appear

appear

verb

ap·pear | \ ə-ˈpir

appeared; appearing

Kids Definition of appear

1 : to come into sight Stars appeared in the sky.

2 : to present oneself appear in court

3 : seem sense 1 The runner in the lead appears to be tired.

4 : to come before the public The book appeared last year.

5 : to come into existence The first dinosaurs appeared around 215 million years ago.

appear

intransitive verb

ap·pear

Legal Definition of appear

1 : to present oneself before a person or body having authority: as

a : to present oneself in court as a party to a lawsuit often through the representation of an attorney also : to participate as a party to a lawsuit in a way other than by physical presence (as by mail)

b : to present oneself in court as the attorney for a party to a lawsuit appearing for the defendant

2 : to have an outward look conduct that appears unethical