appearances

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...

   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.
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.

See all 8 meanings of appearance