Adjacent Words

Appearance definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

APPE'ARANCE, n.
1. The act of coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye; as, his sudden appearance surprised me.
2. The thing seen; a phenomenon; as an appearance in the sky.
3. Semblance; apparent likeness.
There was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire. Numbers 9.
4. External show; semblance assumed, in opposition to reality or substance; as, we are often deceived by appearances; he has the appearance of virtue.
For man looketh on the outward appearance. 2 Samuel 16
5. Personal presence; exhibition of the person; as, he made his first appearance at court or on the stage.
6. Exhibition of the character; introduction of a person to the public in a particular character, as a person makes his appearance in the world, as a historian, an artist, or an orator.
7. Probability; likelihood. This sense is rather an inference from the third or fourth; as probability is inferred from external semblance or show.
8. Presence; mien; figure; as presented by the person, dress or manners; as, the lady made a noble appearance.
9. A being present in court; a defendant's filing common or special bail to a process.
10. An apparition.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: outward or visible aspect of a person or thing [syn: appearance, visual aspect]
2: the event of coming into sight [ant: disappearance]
3: formal attendance (in court or at a hearing) of a party in an action [syn: appearance, appearing, coming into court]
4: a mental representation; "I tried to describe his appearance to the police"
5: the act of appearing in public view; "the rookie made a brief appearance in the first period"; "it was Bernhardt's last appearance in America" [ant: disappearance, disappearing]
6: pretending that something is the case in order to make a good impression; "they try to keep up appearances"; "that ceremony is just for show" [syn: appearance, show]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 14th century 1. a. external show ; semblance <although hostile, he preserved an appearance of neutrality> b. outward aspect ; look <had a fierce appearance> c. plural outward indication <trying to keep up appearances> 2. a. a sense impression or aspect of a thing <the blue of distant hills is only an appearance> b. the world of sensible phenomena 3. a. the act, action, or process of appearing b. the presentation of oneself in court as a party to an action often through the representation of an attorney 4. a. something that appears ; phenomenon b. an instance of appearing ; occurrence

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or an instance of appearing. 2 an outward form as perceived (whether correctly or not), esp. visually (has an appearance of prosperity; gives the appearance of trying hard). 3 a semblance. Phrases and idioms: keep up appearances maintain an impression or pretence of virtue, affluence, etc. make (or put in) an appearance be present, esp. briefly. to all appearances as far as can be seen; apparently. Etymology: ME f. OF aparance, -ence f. LL apparentia (as APPEAR, -ENCE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Appearance Ap*pear"ance, n. [F. apparence, L. apparentia, fr. apparere. See Appear.] 1. The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye; as, his sudden appearance surprised me. 2. A thing seed; a phenomenon; a phase; an apparition; as, an appearance in the sky. 3. Personal presence; exhibition of the person; look; aspect; mien. And now am come to see . . . It thy appearance answer loud report. --Milton. 4. Semblance, or apparent likeness; external show. pl. Outward signs, or circumstances, fitted to make a particular impression or to determine the judgment as to the character of a person or a thing, an act or a state; as, appearances are against him. There was upon the tabernacle, as it were, the appearance of fire. --Num. ix. 15. For man looketh on the outward appearance. --1 Sam. xvi. 7. Judge not according to the appearance. --John. vii. 24. 5. The act of appearing in a particular place, or in society, a company, or any proceedings; a coming before the public in a particular character; as, a person makes his appearance as an historian, an artist, or an orator. Will he now retire, After appearance, and again prolong Our expectation? --Milton. 6. Probability; likelihood. [Obs.] There is that which hath no appearance. --Bacon. 7. (Law) The coming into court of either of the parties; the being present in court; the coming into court of a party summoned in an action, either by himself or by his attorney, expressed by a formal entry by the proper officer to that effect; the act or proceeding by which a party proceeded against places himself before the court, and submits to its jurisdiction. --Burrill. --Bouvier. --Daniell. To put in an appearance, to be present; to appear in person. To save appearances, to preserve a fair outward show. Syn: Coming; arrival; presence; semblance; pretense; air; look; manner; mien; figure; aspect.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(appearances) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When someone makes an appearance at a public event or in a broadcast, they take part in it. It was the president's second public appearance to date... Keegan made 68 appearances in two seasons for Southampton, scoring 37 times. N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft supp N 2. Someone's or something's appearance is the way that they look. She used to be so fussy about her appearance... N-SING: with supp 3. The appearance of someone or something in a place is their arrival there, especially when it is unexpected. The sudden appearance of a few bags of rice could start a riot. N-SING: with supp, oft N of n 4. The appearance of something new is its coming into existence or use. Fears are growing of a cholera outbreak following the appearance of a number of cases in the city. N-SING: with supp, oft N of n 5. If something has the appearance of a quality, it seems to have that quality. We tried to meet both children's needs without the appearance of favoritism or unfairness... N-SING: with supp 6. If something is true to all appearances, from all appearances, or by all appearances, it seems from what you observe or know about it that it is true. He was a small and to all appearances an unassuming man. PHRASE: PHR with cl/group 7. If you keep up appearances, you try to behave and dress in a way that people expect of you, even if you can no longer afford it. His parents' obsession with keeping up appearances haunted his childhood. PHRASE: V inflects 8. If you put in an appearance at an event, you go to it for a short time although you may not really want to, but do not stay. = show your face PHRASE: V inflects

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

a-per'-ans (mar'eh; chiefly used of the mystic and supernatural visions of Ezekiel and Daniel): A semblance, as of lightning, wheels, sapphire stone (Eze 1:14,16,26); Gabriel's overpowering revelation (Da 8:15; see also Da 10:6,18). In the New Testament refers exclusively, through three Greek words, prosopon, "sight," "countenance," to "outward appearance" (2Co 10:7 the King James Version); and its possibly deceptive nature: opsis, "Judge not according to appearance." (Joh 7:24); "them that glory in appearance." (2Co 5:12; compare 1Sa 16:7). See also 1Th 2:12, the English Revised Version, margin (eidos = "sight").

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Coming, arrival, advent, apparition. 2. Appearance, what is seen, form, being, apparition. 3. Semblance, seeming, show, face, pretence, color, pretext, guise, fashion, feature. 4. Mien, air, aspect, look, complexion, figure, manner, demeanor, personal presence.

Moby Thesaurus

Christophany, Masan, Prospero, Satanophany, accomplishment, achievement, acting, advent, affectation, air, airiness, angelophany, apparent character, apparition, appearances, approach, arrival, aspect, astral, astral spirit, attainment, attitudinizing, avatar, banshee, bearing, bluff, bluffing, cheating, color, coloring, coming, control, countenance, deception, delusion, delusiveness, demeanor, departed spirit, disclosure, disembodied spirit, disguise, display, dissemblance, dissembling, dissemination, dissimulation, duppy, dybbuk, eidolon, embodiment, epiphany, evidence, evincement, expression, exteriority, exteriors, external appearance, externality, externalness, externals, extrinsicality, facade, face, fakery, faking, fallaciousness, false air, false appearance, false front, false image, false light, false show, falseness, falsity, fantasy, features, feigning, feint, fiction, figure, foreignness, form, four-flushing, fraud, front, gaudiness, ghost, gilt, gloss, grateful dead, guide, guise, hant, haunt, hint, humbug, humbuggery, idealization, idolum, illusion, illusionism, illusionist, illusiveness, image, immateriality, imposture, incarnation, incorporeal, incorporeal being, incorporeity, indication, larva, lemures, lineaments, look, looks, magic, magic act, magic show, magician, make-believe, manes, manifestation, manner, masquerade, materialization, mere externals, meretriciousness, mien, mirage, oni, openness, ostent, ostentation, outerness, outside, outward appearance, outward show, outwardness, phantasm, phantasma, phantasmagoria, phantom, phasm, phenomenon, playacting, pneumatophany, poltergeist, pose, posing, posture, presence, prestidigitation, pretense, pretension, pretext, proof, public image, publication, reaching, representation, revelation, revenant, seeming, semblance, shade, shadow, shallowness, sham, shape, show, showing, shrouded spirit, simulacrum, simulation, sleight of hand, sorcerer, sorcery, specious appearance, speciousness, specter, spectral ghost, spirit, spook, sprite, suggestion, superficiality, surface appearance, surface show, theophany, unactuality, unreality, unsubstantiality, vain show, varnish, vision, waking dream, walking dead man, wandering soul, wildest dream, window dressing, wraith, zombie