appearance
Pluralappearances
- 1The way something looks; the overall impression made by a person's presence.
The garden's neglected appearance suggested the owners had been away for months.
His confident appearance put the nervous interviewees at ease.
UsageCompare looks with in appearance (similar in appearance to its parent); for people, personal appearance is a common phrase.
Note
When people are meant, personal appearance is a common phrase, as when Ben Travers pairs diners' "gluttony and personal appearance" in A Cuckoo in the Nest. Milton's Samson Agonistes asks whether a man's appearance will "answer loud report," whether the look lives up to the reputation. Aspect and mien are bookish near-synonyms.
- 2The act of appearing in a particular place, in society, or before the public in a given role.
The author's appearance at the festival had been advertised for weeks.
He made a brief appearance at the reception before slipping away.
UsageUsually make an appearance (at an event, on television); in sport, players count their appearances for a team.
Similarpresence, attendance, arrival
Oppositeabsence
Note
Sport counts appearances for a team, as when David Beckham's first appearance at Giants Stadium for the LA Galaxy drew a crowd of 66,237. Milton's Paradise Regain'd uses it with no article at all ("After appearance"), a barer construction.
- 3The way something seems or presents itself, as distinct from what it really is underneath.
The negotiations had the appearance of progress, but nothing was actually agreed.
She maintained an appearance of indifference to hide her disappointment.
UsageOften an appearance of + noun (an appearance of calm); set phrases: keep up appearances, to all appearances, give every appearance of.
Note
Here the stress falls on seeming rather than being. The appearance of + noun hedges what is seen: the King James Bible describes "as it were the appearance of fire" over the tabernacle, something that looked like fire. The same book warns "Judge not according to the appearance," and the word in this sense often carries that note of suspicion. In philosophy it names the outward show set against substance or essence.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The King James Bible uses the quoted phrase to describe something resembling fire over the tabernacle, in Numbers 9:15. en.wikisource.org
- The King James Bible contains the quoted warning, in John 7:24. en.wikisource.org
- In philosophy, appearance can denote outward reality contrasted with substance or essence. en.wiktionary.org
- 4The act of coming into sight; the moment of becoming visible to the eye.
Astronomers had predicted the comet's appearance for weeks, and on the first clear night it finally rose above the hills.
The first appearance of green shoots signaled the start of spring.
Similaremergence
Oppositedisappearance
Note
This sense names an event: a coming into view, often a sudden or a first one. The word was borrowed from Middle French apparence, from Latin apparentia, and matches appear plus -ance in shape. It replaced two native Old English words: ætīewednes for the act of coming into view, and hīew for the way something looks. One borrowing took over both the event and the look.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Appearance was borrowed from Middle French apparence, derived from Latin apparentia. en.wiktionary.org
- Appearance can be analysed morphologically as appear plus -ance. en.wiktionary.org
- Appearance displaced the native Old English words ætīewednes and hīew in the respective senses of appearing and outward looks. en.wiktionary.org
- 5An instance of coming before a court of law to take part in a trial or lawsuit, either in person or through an attorney.
The defendant's appearance was scheduled for Monday morning.
Her attorney entered an appearance shortly before the hearing began.
UsageOften a court appearance, or make an appearance in court; a lawyer enters an appearance for a client.
Less common meanings
- 6Something that is seen; a phenomenon or an apparition.
The villagers attributed the strange appearance over the marsh to swamp gas.
Witnesses described the appearance as a glowing ball of light that hung silently above the hills for several minutes.
Similarphenomenon, apparition, sight, vision
- 7Chiefly among nurses, a discreet word for a patient's act of defecation.
Practice
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Origin
English borrowed 'appearance' from Middle French apparence, which came from Latin apparentia and the verb appareo. It can be analyzed as 'appear' plus the suffix '-ance,' and it replaced the native Old English words hīew and ætīewednes.
Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- English borrowed appearance from Middle French apparence. en.wiktionary.org
- The French word ultimately derives from Latin apparentia and appareo. en.wiktionary.org
- Appearance was borrowed from French; appear + -ance describes its morphological structure, rather than its original formation in English. en.wiktionary.org
- Appearance displaced the native Old English words hīew and ætīewednes. en.wiktionary.org