man·i·fest
ˈma-nə-ˌfest 
1
: readily perceived by the senses and especially by the sense of sight
Their sadness was manifest in their faces.
2
: easily understood or recognized by the mind : obvious
manifestly
adverb
manifested; manifesting; manifests
: to make evident or certain by showing or displaying
manifester
noun
Synonyms
Adjective
- apparent
- bald
- bald-faced
- barefaced
- bright-line
- broad
- clear
- clear-cut
- crystal clear
- decided
- distinct
- evident
- lucid
- luculent
- luminous
- nonambiguous
- obvious
- open-and-shut
- palpable
- patent
- pellucid
- perspicuous
- plain
- ringing
- straightforward
- transparent
- unambiguous
- unambivalent
- unequivocal
- unmistakable
Verb
Examples of manifest in a Sentence
Adjective
The argument, for all of its manifest inadequacies … captured the national imagination and shaped subsequent religious discourse. It provided a vocabulary, an explanation, and a new set of boundaries for the restructured American religion that had by then been developing for half a century.
—
Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism, 2004
Economics, the great model among us now, indulges and deprives, builds and abandons, threatens and promises. Its imperium is manifest, irrefragable—as in fact it has been since antiquity.
—Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, 1998
Washington has long been uneasy about its relationship with Somalia, partly because of the manifest shakiness of the Siad Barre administration but also because of Somalia's continuing claims on the Ogaden.
—John Borrell, Wall Street Journal, 23 Aug. 1982
His muscles were getting flabby, and his tailor called attention to his increasing waistband. In fact, Daylight was developing a definite paunch. This physical deterioration was manifest likewise in his face.
—Jack London, Burning Daylight, 1910
Their sadness was manifest in their faces.
His love for literature is manifest in his large library.
There was manifest confusion in the streets.
Verb
Malone has invited Barkley to spend a week … to relax, talk some basketball, eat some hot Louisiana food and kick around the subject of frustration, something they both feel but manifest in different ways.
—Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated, 27 Apr. 1992
He asked what they had been doing in Dallas, and they told him that they were looking at the Sunbelt boom as manifested in the great Texas banks, thrifts and real estate operations.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, A Tenured Professor, 1990
And if one is a pantheist … one might say that all nature is divinity and manifests itself in myriad forms and delightful complexities.
—Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon, 1986
Both sides have manifested a stubborn unwillingness to compromise.
Their religious beliefs are manifested in every aspect of their lives.
Her behavior problems began manifesting themselves soon after she left home.
Noun
Since 2002, a program known as the Container Security Initiative requires our main trading partners to send to U.S. Customs and border Protection an electronic manifest for every U.S.-bound container twenty-four hours before it is loaded on a ship.
—William Finnegan, New Yorker, 19 June 2006
Has any passenger manifest been more fretted over than the Mayflower's?
—Jack Hitt, Harper's, July 2005
But for me, finding it still in "use" is high on the manifest of writerly thrills longed for—along with seeing someone you don't know hungrily reading your book on an overland bus in Turkey; or noticing your book on the shelf behind the moderator on Meet the Press next to The Wealth of Nations and Giants in the Earth; or seeing your book on a list of overlooked American masterpieces compiled by former insiders in the Kennedy administration.
—Richard Ford, Independence Day, 1995
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Jonathan D. Sarna, American Judaism, 2004
Economics, the great model among us now, indulges and deprives, builds and abandons, threatens and promises. Its imperium is manifest, irrefragable—as in fact it has been since antiquity.
—Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, 1998
Washington has long been uneasy about its relationship with Somalia, partly because of the manifest shakiness of the Siad Barre administration but also because of Somalia's continuing claims on the Ogaden.
—John Borrell, Wall Street Journal, 23 Aug. 1982
His muscles were getting flabby, and his tailor called attention to his increasing waistband. In fact, Daylight was developing a definite paunch. This physical deterioration was manifest likewise in his face.
—Jack London, Burning Daylight, 1910
Their sadness was manifest in their faces.
His love for literature is manifest in his large library.
There was manifest confusion in the streets.
Verb
Malone has invited Barkley to spend a week … to relax, talk some basketball, eat some hot Louisiana food and kick around the subject of frustration, something they both feel but manifest in different ways.
—Jack McCallum, Sports Illustrated, 27 Apr. 1992
He asked what they had been doing in Dallas, and they told him that they were looking at the Sunbelt boom as manifested in the great Texas banks, thrifts and real estate operations.
—John Kenneth Galbraith, A Tenured Professor, 1990
And if one is a pantheist … one might say that all nature is divinity and manifests itself in myriad forms and delightful complexities.
—Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon, 1986
Both sides have manifested a stubborn unwillingness to compromise.
Their religious beliefs are manifested in every aspect of their lives.
Her behavior problems began manifesting themselves soon after she left home.
Noun
Since 2002, a program known as the Container Security Initiative requires our main trading partners to send to U.S. Customs and border Protection an electronic manifest for every U.S.-bound container twenty-four hours before it is loaded on a ship.
—William Finnegan, New Yorker, 19 June 2006
Has any passenger manifest been more fretted over than the Mayflower's?
—Jack Hitt, Harper's, July 2005
But for me, finding it still in "use" is high on the manifest of writerly thrills longed for—along with seeing someone you don't know hungrily reading your book on an overland bus in Turkey; or noticing your book on the shelf behind the moderator on Meet the Press next to The Wealth of Nations and Giants in the Earth; or seeing your book on a list of overlooked American masterpieces compiled by former insiders in the Kennedy administration.
—Richard Ford, Independence Day, 1995
See More
Recent Examples on the WebChris Hacker, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2023
So in other words, the holographic principle may be telling us that quantum interactions living on the borders of our universe literally manifest spacetime within it.
—Popular Mechanics, 31 July 2023
The tribunal would be set up specifically to try the crime of aggression—that is, a manifest violation of the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force.
—Brian Finucane, Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2023
Some of the earthy complexity and messiness of early Buddhist iconography is brushed aside and purified as the serene figure of the Buddha himself becomes manifest and takes commanding shape.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2023
The usual culprits of economic restructuring, racial tensions, shifting consumer preferences and government inefficiency are all still involved, but these forces are now manifest in new ways.
—Mark Davidson, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2023
Because the fruits of that policy are now manifest.
—Evan Osborne, National Review, 5 Aug. 2023
Industry influence is manifest at every level of the process from research sponsorship to the recruitment of scientists and public health professionals for advisory panels.
—Cecília Tomori, STAT, 8 Feb. 2023
Developers creating plug-ins, according to OpenAI’s guidance, must follow its content guidelines and provide a manifest file, which includes contact information for the plug-in’s creators, among other details.
—WIRED, 25 July 2023
Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023
In short, what’s at stake is the very idea and ideal of freedom as manifested in American history, to the present day.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
That didn’t exactly manifest itself vs. Florida, however.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Sep. 2023
The impact of that long decline has manifested itself in the form of layoffs and cost-cutting.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023
Happy developments could manifest quickly within two weeks of this eclipse!
—The Astrotwins, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2023
There’s a youthful rage running through the central trio laced with sporadic sparks of innocence, a combination that the actors convincingly manifest.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
Now, business opportunities have manifested, many times in gimmicky ways previously seen mainly in men’s sports (for instance, recall basketball games played on aircraft carriers).
—Santul Nerkar, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
The psychological impact of a crash can also contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can manifest as debilitating headaches.
—Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law, Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2023
Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
The deaths were not officially confirmed until Sunday, when Russian investigators said genetic testing showed that the victims of the crash matched the names on the manifest.
—Valerie Hopkins, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2023
Also listed on the passenger manifest: Dmitry Utkin, who has been referred to as Prigozhin’s right-hand man, and another close associate, Valeriy Yevgenyevich Chekalov.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Russia's civil aviation agency said Prigozhin's name was on the flight manifest of the Embraer private jet, along with three crew members and six other passengers, and Russia's Russia's Emergency Services said 10 bodies were recovered from the crash.
—Peter Weber, The Week, 23 Aug. 2023
Their limited ingredient formulas are designed to support dogs with sensitivities and allergies, including those that manifest as paw-licking.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2023
The passenger manifest also included Prigozhin’s second-in-command, who baptized the group with his nom de guerre, as well as Wagner’s logistics chief, a fighter wounded by U.S. airstrikes in Syria and at least one possible bodyguard.
—Emma Burrows, Aamer Madhani, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2023
However, the outlet reported that a local politician was one of the eight people on the jet, citing the flight manifest.
—Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023
Will all the talk about Jackson being a more vocal game manager manifest?
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 17 Aug. 2023
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Adjective
And the consequences of that are physically manifest in school buildings.
—Chris Hacker, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2023
So in other words, the holographic principle may be telling us that quantum interactions living on the borders of our universe literally manifest spacetime within it.
—Popular Mechanics, 31 July 2023
The tribunal would be set up specifically to try the crime of aggression—that is, a manifest violation of the UN Charter’s prohibition on the use of force.
—Brian Finucane, Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2023
Some of the earthy complexity and messiness of early Buddhist iconography is brushed aside and purified as the serene figure of the Buddha himself becomes manifest and takes commanding shape.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2023
The usual culprits of economic restructuring, racial tensions, shifting consumer preferences and government inefficiency are all still involved, but these forces are now manifest in new ways.
—Mark Davidson, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2023
Because the fruits of that policy are now manifest.
—Evan Osborne, National Review, 5 Aug. 2023
Industry influence is manifest at every level of the process from research sponsorship to the recruitment of scientists and public health professionals for advisory panels.
—Cecília Tomori, STAT, 8 Feb. 2023
Developers creating plug-ins, according to OpenAI’s guidance, must follow its content guidelines and provide a manifest file, which includes contact information for the plug-in’s creators, among other details.
—WIRED, 25 July 2023
Verb
But for Sebastian, there’s a cost to such alienation from the actual world, and it’s manifested in existential dread (or The Trouble With Being Born).
—Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2023
In short, what’s at stake is the very idea and ideal of freedom as manifested in American history, to the present day.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2023
That didn’t exactly manifest itself vs. Florida, however.
—Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Sep. 2023
The impact of that long decline has manifested itself in the form of layoffs and cost-cutting.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023
Happy developments could manifest quickly within two weeks of this eclipse!
—The Astrotwins, ELLE, 1 Sep. 2023
There’s a youthful rage running through the central trio laced with sporadic sparks of innocence, a combination that the actors convincingly manifest.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 31 Aug. 2023
Now, business opportunities have manifested, many times in gimmicky ways previously seen mainly in men’s sports (for instance, recall basketball games played on aircraft carriers).
—Santul Nerkar, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2023
The psychological impact of a crash can also contribute to the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can manifest as debilitating headaches.
—Thomas J. Henry Personal Injury Law, Dallas News, 31 Aug. 2023
Noun
But when her righteous rage and desperation manifest in murderous behavior on the massage table, Luis finds a way to dispose of the bodies that benefits them both.
—Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023
The deaths were not officially confirmed until Sunday, when Russian investigators said genetic testing showed that the victims of the crash matched the names on the manifest.
—Valerie Hopkins, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Aug. 2023
Also listed on the passenger manifest: Dmitry Utkin, who has been referred to as Prigozhin’s right-hand man, and another close associate, Valeriy Yevgenyevich Chekalov.
—Mary Ilyushina, Washington Post, 24 Aug. 2023
Russia's civil aviation agency said Prigozhin's name was on the flight manifest of the Embraer private jet, along with three crew members and six other passengers, and Russia's Russia's Emergency Services said 10 bodies were recovered from the crash.
—Peter Weber, The Week, 23 Aug. 2023
Their limited ingredient formulas are designed to support dogs with sensitivities and allergies, including those that manifest as paw-licking.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 6 Aug. 2023
The passenger manifest also included Prigozhin’s second-in-command, who baptized the group with his nom de guerre, as well as Wagner’s logistics chief, a fighter wounded by U.S. airstrikes in Syria and at least one possible bodyguard.
—Emma Burrows, Aamer Madhani, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2023
However, the outlet reported that a local politician was one of the eight people on the jet, citing the flight manifest.
—Michael Lee Simpson, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023
Will all the talk about Jackson being a more vocal game manager manifest?
—Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 17 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manifest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective, Verb, and Noun
Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French manifeste, from Latin manifestus caught in the act, flagrant, obvious, perhaps from manus + -festus (akin to Latin infestus hostile)
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Noun
1561, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of manifest was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing manifest
Dictionary Entries Near manifest
Cite this Entry
“Manifest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifest. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.
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Kids Definition
manifest
1 of 3 adjective
man·i·fest
ˈman-ə-ˌfest
: clear to the senses or mind : obvious
their relief was manifest
manifestly
adverb
manifest
2 of 3 verb
: to show plainly : display
manifest
3 of 3 noun
: a list of cargo or passengers especially for a ship or plane
Legal Definition
manifest
1 of 3 adjective
man·i·fest
ˈma-nə-ˌfest
1
: capable of being readily perceived by the senses and especially by sight
a manifest injury
2
: capable of being easily understood or recognized : clearly evident, obvious, and indisputable
vacating an arbitrator's award because of the arbitrator's manifest disregard of the law
manifestly
adverb
manifest
2 of 3 transitive verb
: to make evident or certain by showing or displaying
manifesting the intent to make a gift
manifest
3 of 3 noun
: a list of passengers or an invoice of cargo for a vehicle (as a ship or plane)
More from Merriam-Webster on manifest
Nglish: Translation of manifest for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of manifest for Arabic Speakers
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