appearance

noun

Appearance — the act of becoming visible, present, and seen

Definition

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"

In depth

An appearance is the act of appearing in public view, the moment a person or thing becomes visible or present where it had not been before. The word also names, distinctly, the outward look of a thing, its visual character, a second sense writers should hold separate from the act of simply showing up.

Origin

The word descends from Latin apparere, to come into sight, formed from ad- (to) and parere (to come forth or be visible). Both modern senses, the act of becoming visible and the resulting visual character, trace back to this same root sense of coming forth to be seen, whether briefly in a single moment or continuously as an ongoing quality.

Usage examples

"The rookie made a brief appearance in the first period, just long enough to remind everyone he belonged on the roster."

"Her sudden appearance at the funeral, after years of estrangement, silenced the entire room."

"He had cultivated, over decades, a public appearance entirely at odds with the private man few people knew."

How to use it

Appearance is broadly useful, but writers should rely on context to clarify whether the word refers to the act of appearing or to outward visual character, since the two senses, though related, serve quite different narrative purposes.