əˈpi(ə)r, -iə intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English apperen, aperen, from Old French aparoir (3d person plural present indicative aperent ), from Latin apparēre, from ad- + parēre to come forth, be visible; akin to Greek peparein to display
1.
a. : to come into view (as from a distance or a place of concealment) : become visible
sandbars which appear in the river bed at low water — P.E.James
b. : to be in sight : be visible
a faint but courteous smile occasionally appeared upon the veteran's lips — E.H.Collis
2. : to come formally before an authoritative body
I appeared before the committee in executive session — R.M.Lovett
specifically : to present oneself formally as plaintiff, defendant, or counsel
was instructed to appear in court the next morning
3. : to be taken as : look , seem
a spirit of tolerance which allows the expression of all opinions, however heretical they may appear — J.B.Conant
4.
a. : to be clear to the mind : be obvious or evident
it perpetually appears throughout history that one man achieves and is the true creator of a capital event — Hilaire Belloc
b. : to reveal itself to an observer or reader : be manifest
his range of interest appears also in his books — Allan Westcott
5. : to come before the public or into public view
thank the delegates for the great honor they have done me in inviting me to appear before them — D.D.Eisenhower
a. : to come before the public as an actor
he first appeared on Broadway last year
b. : to come before the public as an author
he appeared in print for the first time
c. : to come out in published form
his papers appeared in various scientific journals
: be out
a new recording of the symphony appeared last week
6. : to come into existence
primitives may very well appear at any stage of a country's development — Bernard Smith
: become created, developed, discovered, founded, or invented
the sources whence civilization flowed westward centuries before Greece and Rome appear — Edward Clodd