appearance

Noun

appearance (countable and uncountable, plural appearances)

1. The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye.
   • His sudden appearance surprised me.

   Synonyms:

   arrival, manifestation

2. A thing seen; a phenomenon; an apparition.
   • There was a strange appearance in the sky.

   Synonyms:

   spectacle, apparition, phenomenon, presence

3. The way something looks; personal presence
   • And now am come to ſee of whom ſuch noiſe
     Hath walk'd about, and each limb to ſurvey,
     If thy appearance anſwer loud report.1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 66, lines...
   • The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   aspect, mien, make, face

4. Apparent likeness; the way which something or someone appears to others.
   • Some people say I'm shallow because I care so much about my appearance.
   • KAWS’s first sculptures were limited edition toys for the Japanese brand Bounty Hunter, and the stylised figures distributed around YSP in a variety of postures – shielding their eyes from the sun, seated in apparent contemplation or leading a child-sized version of themselves over the sward – have...2016 February 4, Mark Hudson, “KAWS, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, review: 'hypnotically compelling'”, in The Telegraph
5. That which is not substance, essence, hypostasis; the outward reality as opposed to the underlying reality
   • Catholicism teaches that the Eucharist, while remaining under the physical appearance of bread and wine, becomes really and truly the body and the blood of Christ.

   Synonyms:

   semblance, show, pretense, façade, facade, visage

6. 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.
   • A person makes his appearance as an historian, an artist, or an orator.
   • David Beckham's first appearance with the LA Galaxy at Giants Stadium against the New York Red Bulls last night drew a crowd of 66237.
7. An instance of someone coming into a court of law to be part of a trial, lawsuit or other proceeding, either in person or represented by an attorney or such like; a court appearance

   Synonyms:

   aspect, air, figure, garb, look, manner, mien

8. Chiefly used by nurses: the act of defecation by a patient.
   • The patient had a small bowel obstruction and there was no appearance until after the obstruction resolved.