appear

/əˈpɪə/

//əˈpɪə// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"appear" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“appear” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,475 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#1,475
frequency rank, English
6
letters
6
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

appear vs append
67% similar
appear vs appears
86% similar
appear vs appease
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for appear
PropertyValue
Headwordappear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈpɪə/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,475
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “appear” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). appear lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for appear is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈpɪə/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,475 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for appear, with forms such as "apear", "apepar", and "appaer". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "append", "appears", "appease", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English apperen, aperen, borrowed from Old French aparoir (French apparoir), from Latin appāreō (“to appear”), from ad (“to”) + pāreō (“to come forth, to become visible”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-s- (“watch, see”), s-present of… The correct English form is appear, spelled A-P-P-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.
  2. 2
    To come before the public.
  3. 3
    To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, etc.; to present oneself as a party or advocate before a court, or as a person to be tried.
  4. 4
    To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest.
  5. 5
    To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.
  6. 6
    To bring into view

Etymology

From Middle English apperen, aperen, borrowed from Old French aparoir (French apparoir), from Latin appāreō (“to appear”), from ad (“to”) + pāreō (“to come forth, to become visible”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-s- (“watch, see”), s-present of *peh₂- (“protect”).

Synonyms

emergelookappearcome forthforthcomeheave in sightheave in viewheave into sightheave into viewmaterializesee the light of day

Antonyms

disappearvanish

This word in other languages

aparecer(Español)apparaître(Français)erscheinen(Deutsch)aparecer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apear,apepar,appaer,appearr,appera,papear

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of appear - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

apear1apepar2appaer2appearr1appera2papear2
Edit distance from "appear"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "appear"?
"appear" is spelled A-P-P-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɪə/.
What does "appear" mean?
As a verb, "appear" means: To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.
What words are commonly confused with "appear"?
"appear" is commonly confused with "append", "appears", "appease". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "appear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "appear" is /əˈpɪə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "appear"?
From Middle English apperen, aperen, borrowed from Old French aparoir (French apparoir), from Latin appāreō (“to appear”), from ad (“to”) + pāreō (“to come forth, to become visible”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-s- (“watch, see”), s-... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “appear”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is A-P-P-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈpɪə/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “append” - see the side-by-side comparison. appear vs append
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list