manifest

MA-ni-fest/ˈmæn.ɪ.fɛst/

Verbmanifests, manifesting, manifested

Noun pluralmanifests

8 meanings of manifest

Practice

1
verbintransitive
To show something clearly, or (of a condition, feeling, or quality) to appear or become evident, as in 'symptoms manifest' or 'manifest a flaw'.
Symptoms may manifest weeks after the initial exposure.
Tensions within the group manifested during the long meeting.
UsageOften manifest as something: it manifested as pain. Manifest itself means the same.
Similarappear, emerge, surface, show
Note
Osteoporosis "first manifested as pain in his hips," and in Dennis Marcellino's 1988 book a behavior "manifests as" trying to prove a parent's criticisms wrong. The pattern names the outward form that an inner condition takes, which suits symptoms and moods.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The osteoporosis quotation occurs as an illustrative example in Wiktionary; it is not an identified patient's case. en.wiktionary.org
Dennis Marcellino's book Sweeping It Under the Drug was published in 1988. en.wikipedia.org
Marcellino uses “manifests as” when describing attempts to prove parental criticisms and belittling wrong. en.wiktionary.org
2
wish into beingverbslangtransitive
To bring something into reality by focusing one's intention and belief upon it.
Many people try to manifest success by visualizing their goals each morning.
She insists that daily gratitude helped her manifest the life she wanted.
UsageTo report the belief neutrally, attribute it: She believes she manifested her success.
Note
The sense began in New Thought writing, spread through visualization books and is now slang. Shakti Gawain's The Creative Visualization Workbook (1982) speaks of "manifesting your goal." The object is the thing wanted, such as a new car or a romance role: "I've been manifesting a romance role for a really long time."
3
adjective
Clear or obvious to the eye or mind; plainly apparent.
The flaw in the committee's reasoning was manifest after a moment's thought.
Her intentions became manifest as soon as she outlined the plan.
UsageUsed after a verb (became manifest to everyone) or before a noun (a manifest error).
Similarobvious, clear, evident, apparent, plain
Oppositehidden, obscure, latent
4
cargo listnouncountable
A document listing the passengers or cargo carried by a ship, aircraft, or other commercial vehicle.
The airline released the passenger manifest after the accident.
Every container vessel files a manifest with the port authorities.
UsageOften a passenger manifest, a cargo manifest or the ship's manifest.
5
computer filenouncountable
A file containing metadata that describes a set of other files.
The build tool reads the manifest to resolve every dependency.
A corrupted manifest prevented the application from launching.
Note
Computing borrowed the cargo list. A software manifest tells tools what a package holds, the way a ship's manifest tells officials what is aboard. It usually lists contents, dependencies, permissions or integrity hashes, and build tools and runtimes read it to interpret the package correctly.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
The computing term was borrowed from the shipping term. en.wikipedia.org
Software manifests describe package contents and can record dependencies and file hashes. learn.microsoft.com
A ship's manifest gives officials information about its cargo. census.gov
Manifest information can include contents and integrity hashes. docs.oracle.com
Manifests can declare permissions and supply information used by build tools and operating systems. developer.android.com

Less common meanings

6
public statementnounobsolete
A public declaration or open statement of intentions or principles; a manifesto.
Note
English used this sense for a while and then gave the job to a doublet. Manifest and manifesto come from the same Latin, and manifesto became the word for a public declaration. In Dryden's Homer's Ilias (1700), a speaker still calls on witnesses "of this my Manifest." Today, use manifesto. A reader would take manifest in this sense as a cargo list.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
Manifest formerly meant a public declaration or manifesto; that sense is now obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
Manifest and manifesto are doublets with a common Latin origin. en.wiktionary.org
Dryden's translation of the first book of Homer's Ilias appeared in Fables Ancient and Modern in 1700. en.wikisource.org
A speaker calls on witnesses using the quoted words; the speaker is Achilles, addressing Agamemnon's heralds. en.wikisource.org
7
declare at customsverbtransitive
To declare goods at customs by entering them on and presenting the ship's official cargo list.
Shippers must manifest every container before it clears the border.
The agent manifested the cargo as soon as the vessel docked.
Similardeclare
Note
The working verb of the customhouse, made from the cargo list. To manifest goods is to enter them on that document and present it to customs, formally declaring the cargo for inspection and duty. It belongs to trade and shipping language. Outside that setting, readers will take the verb to mean "show" or "reveal."
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
Manifesting goods involves recording the cargo in a manifest and presenting that document to customs. history.state.gov
The cargo declaration serves customs inspection and the administration of duties. history.state.gov
8
adjectiverare
Caught in the very act and so plainly proven guilty; detected.
Note
A rare use that takes of to name the fault someone is caught in. Dryden's Palamon and Arcite (1700) has Callisto standing "manifest of Shame." Her guilt is not argued; it is plainly seen. A modern reader will hear the everyday "obvious" sense instead, so quote this use rather than revive it. In current prose, caught in the act carries the same meaning.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
The rare sense means detected or convicted and takes of. en.wiktionary.org
John Dryden wrote Palamon and Arcite. en.wikipedia.org
The poem was first published in 1700, in Fables Ancient and Modern. en.wikisource.org
The narrator describes Callisto standing manifest of Shame; the quoted phrase is accurate. en.wiktionary.org
The phrase presents Callisto as detected or convicted of shame. upload.wikimedia.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of manifest apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Middle English manifest, from Latin manifestus ("palpable, manifest"), formed from manus ("hand") plus an uncertain second element, perhaps a participle of a verb meaning "strike," possibly going back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰers-. It is a doublet of manifesto.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

English manifest comes through Middle English manifest from Latin manifestus, glossed as palpable or manifest. en.wiktionary.org
The Latin word contains manus, meaning hand. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Indo-European *dʰers- is a proposed source of the uncertain second element. en.wiktionary.org
Manifest and manifesto are doublets. en.wiktionary.org