appears

Appear is a verb with senses centered on coming into sight, becoming visible, or being perceived as true or likely. In its literal sense, it means to come into view: The ship appeared on the horizon. It can also describe becoming noticeable or evident: A pattern appears in the data. In a more abstract sense, appear introduces judgments about truth or likelihood: It appears that the plan will succeed.

Grammatical usage varies. Appear is typically intransitive and does not take a direct object. It is often followed by an infinitive clause or a that-clause to express inference: The problem appears to be in the software; It appears that several errors still remain. The verb forms include appear, appeared, appearing, with appeared used for past statements and appearing for the present participle. The noun form is appearance, and the related adjective is apparent; the adverb is apparently.

Usage notes emphasize nuance. Appear and seem are close in meaning, but appear often signals evidence observed or reported by others, while seem more subjective. In formal or journalistic writing, appear is commonly used to convey provisional conclusions or hedged statements: It appears there was a misunderstanding. In everyday language, appear can also denote presence in a place or situation, as in someone’s arrival or a person’s emergence from obscurity.

Etymology traces appear to Old French apareer, from Latin apparēre, meaning to be visible or evident. Related forms include apparent, appearance, apparently, and apparition, which share the core sense of visibility or perceived truth.