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appear

Pronunciation: /əˈpɪə/
Translate appear | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of appear

verb

[no object]
  • 1come into sight; become visible or noticeable, especially without apparent cause:smoke appeared on the horizon
  • come into existence or use:the major life forms appeared on earth
  • be published or offered for sale:the paperback edition didn’t appear for another two years
  • feature or be shown:the symbol appears in many paintings of the period
  • informal arrive at a place:by ten o’clock Bill still hadn’t appeared
  • 2present oneself formally in a court or tribunal:he appeared on six charges of theft
  • 3perform publicly in a film, play, etc.:he appeared on Broadway
  • 4seem; give the impression of being: [with infinitive]:she appeared not to know what was happening [with clause]:it appears unlikely that interest rates will fall

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French apareir, from Latin apparere, from ad- 'towards' + parere 'come into view'

Spelling help

Spell appear and the related word appearance with a double p.

appear in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of appear in the US English dictionary