appear

verb

ap·​pear ə-ˈpir 

appeared; appearing; appears

intransitive verb

1

a

: 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 of appear

• show
• unfold
• come
• arrive
• reappear
• materialize
• loom

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

If a message appears to come from the boss but something feels off, Cranor said, workers should verify it through another channel before responding. — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2026

Following his speech, the video of Parton played and the beloved icon appeared on screen, as brilliant as ever. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2026

In December 1982, Collins began appearing in one-minute TV commercials that aired in the Chicago area, asking consumers to restore their trust in Tylenol, which was becoming available in new tamper-resistant packaging. — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026

What it’s based on The glass skin trend has its roots in South Korean beauty culture, where the term is used to describe a complexion that appears exceptionally smooth and pore-less. — Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing appear

• appear in print

Rhymes for appear

• adhere
• ameer
• amir
• arrear
• astir
• austere
• career
• cashier
• cohere
• compere
• emir
• endear

Kids Definition

appear

verb

ap·​pear ə-ˈpi(ə)r 

1

: to come into sight : become plain : show

stars appeared in the sky

2

: to present oneself formally (as to answer a charge)

appear in court

3

: seem sense 1, look

things are not always as they appear

appears to be tired

4

: to come before the public

appears on television

Legal Definition

appear

intransitive verb

ap·​pear

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