APPEAR

appear

(verb) come into sight or view; “He suddenly appeared at the wedding”; “A new star appeared on the horizon”

appear, come along

(verb) come into being or existence, or appear on the scene; “Then the computer came along and changed our lives”; “Homo sapiens appeared millions of years ago”

appear, come out

(verb) be issued or published; “Did your latest book appear yet?”; “The new Woody Allen film hasn’t come out yet”

appear

(verb) appear as a character on stage or appear in a play, etc.; “Gielgud appears briefly in this movie”; “She appeared in ‘Hamlet’ on the London stage”

look, appear, seem

(verb) give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect; “She seems to be sleeping”; “This appears to be a very difficult problem”; “This project looks fishy”; “They appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a long time”

appear, seem

(verb) seem to be true, probable, or apparent; “It seems that he is very gifted”; “It appears that the weather in California is very bad”

appear

(verb) present oneself formally, as before a (judicial) authority; “He had to appear in court last month”; “She appeared on several charges of theft”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

appear (third-person singular simple present appears, present participle appearing, simple past and past participle appeared)

(intransitive) To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.

(intransitive) To come before the public.

(intransitive) To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, etc.; to present oneself as a party or advocate before a court, or as a person to be tried.

(intransitive) To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest.

(intransitive, copulative) To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.

(transitive) To bring into view.

Usage notes

• Senses 4, 5. This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See English catenative verbs

• Particularly senses 4,5, and 6, this is a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See

Synonyms

• (to become visible): emerge; see also appear

• (seem): look

Antonyms

• (to become visible): disappear, vanish

Source: Wiktionary

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Ap*pear", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Appeared; p. pr. & vb. n. Appearing.] Etym: [OE. apperen, aperen, OF. aparoir, F. apparoir, fr. L. appar to appear + parto come forth, to be visible; prob. from the same root as par to produce. Cf. Apparent, Parent, Peer, v. i.]

1. To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible. And God . . . said, Let . . . the dry land appear. Gen. i. 9.

2. To come before the public; as, a great writer appeared at that time.

3. To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, or the like; to present one's self as a party or advocate before a court, or as a person to be tried. We must all appear before the judgment seat. * Cor. v. 10. One ruffian escaped because no prosecutor dared to appear. Macaulay.

4. To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest. It doth not yet appear what we shall be. 1 John iii. 2. Of their vain contest appeared no end. Milton.

5. To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look. They disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Matt. vi. 16.

Syn.

– To seem; look. See Seem.

Ap*pear", n.

Definition: Appearance. [Obs.] J. Fletcher.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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