appeared; appearing; appears
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.
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
Her work has also appeared in Elle, The Cut, Architectural Digest, Harper’s Bazaar, Rolling Stone, W, and elsewhere.
—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
4 July 2026
From candy makers to bakers and wedding favor brands, people and companies around the world appear to be capitalizing on what could be the biggest wedding of the era.
—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
4 July 2026
Earlier this week, TMZ published a video that appeared to show massive white staircase banisters being craned into the building.
—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
4 July 2026
Sandler and Kelce developed a friendship after the Chiefs tight end appeared in Happy Gilmore 2.
—
Bobby Burack Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
4 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for appear
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Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
4 July 2026
From candy makers to bakers and wedding favor brands, people and companies around the world appear to be capitalizing on what could be the biggest wedding of the era.
—
Bryan West,
USA Today,
4 July 2026
Earlier this week, TMZ published a video that appeared to show massive white staircase banisters being craned into the building.
—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
4 July 2026
Sandler and Kelce developed a friendship after the Chiefs tight end appeared in Happy Gilmore 2.
—
Bobby Burack Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
4 July 2026
See All Example Sentences for appear
Cite this Entry
“Appear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/appear. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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