appearance

/əˈpɪə.ɹəns/

//əˈpɪə.ɹəns// noun

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

"appearance" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“appearance” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,058 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,058
frequency rank, English
10
letters
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye.

Key facts for appearance
PropertyValue
Headwordappearance
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈpɪə.ɹəns/
Letters10
Frequency rank#2,058
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “appearance” 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). appearance 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 appearance is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈpɪə.ɹəns/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,058 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for appearance, with forms such as "apearance", "apeparance", and "appaerance". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French apparence, from Latin apparentia, from appareo. Morphologically appear + -ance. Doublet of apparence and apparency. Displaced native Old English hīew (“the way something looks or seems”) and ætīewednes (“act of appearing or comin… The correct English form is appearance, spelled A-P-P-E-A-R-A-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye.
  2. 2
    A thing seen; a phenomenon; an apparition.
  3. 3
    The way something looks; personal presence
  4. 4
    Apparent likeness; the way which something or someone appears to others.
  5. 5
    That which is not substance, essence, hypostasis; the outward reality as opposed to the underlying reality
  6. 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.
  7. 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
  8. 8
    Chiefly used by nurses: the act of defecation by a patient.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French apparence, from Latin apparentia, from appareo. Morphologically appear + -ance. Doublet of apparence and apparency. Displaced native Old English hīew (“the way something looks or seems”) and ætīewednes (“act of appearing or coming into view”).

Synonyms

arrivalmanifestationspectacleapparitionphenomenonpresenceaspectairfigurelookmannermiensemblanceshowpretensefaçadefacadedebut

Antonyms

non-appearancenonappearance

This word in other languages

aparición(Español)apparition(Français)Erscheinen(Deutsch)aparição(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: apearance,apeparance,appaerance,appeaarnce,appearacne,appearancce,appearanec,appearannce,appearence,appearnace,appearrance,apperaance,papearance

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of appearance - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apearance1apeparance2appaerance2appeaarnce2appearacne2appearancce1appearanec2appearannce1
Edit distance from "appearance"

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 "appearance"?
"appearance" is spelled A-P-P-E-A-R-A-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɪə.ɹəns/.
What does "appearance" mean?
As a noun, "appearance" means: The act of appearing or coming into sight; the act of becoming visible to the eye.
What are common misspellings of "appearance"?
Common misspellings include "apearance", "apeparance", "appaerance", "appeaarnce", "appearacne". The correct spelling is "appearance".
How do you pronounce "appearance"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "appearance" is /əˈpɪə.ɹəns/. 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 "appearance"?
Borrowed from Middle French apparence, from Latin apparentia, from appareo. Morphologically appear + -ance. Doublet of apparence and apparency. Displaced native Old English hīew (“the way something looks or seems”) and ætīewednes (“act of appearin... 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 “appearance”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is A-P-P-E-A-R-A-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /əˈpɪə.ɹəns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • 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