n. 1
A thing seen; a phenomenon; an apparition.
There was a strange appearance in the sky.
n. 2
The way something looks; personal presence
n. 3
That which is not substance, essence, hypostasis; the outward reality as opposed to the underlying reality
n. 4
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

Related words

Word family: apparent appear

Forms

Plural: appearances → shows, semblances, seemings, guises…

Choose the right word

Appearance or Air?

Appearance refers more to the dress and other externals. We might say of a travel-soiled pedestrian, he has the appearance of a tramp, but the air of a gentleman.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

seeming Is it possible to be sincere without seeming arrogant?
likeness A painter could not better describe his likeness.
semblance There is not even a semblance of proof.
visage The monster's ugly visage horrified the campers.
presence I was put to shame in the presence of many people.
apparition Dreadful apparition, why do you trouble me?

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
appearance		steady
seeming		rising
likeness		rising
semblance		steady
visage		rising
presence		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: air¹
4 letters: make¹, look¹, show¹, face¹, mine¹, garb¹
5 letters: color², shape¹, phase¹, sight¹, debut², guise¹
6 letters: coming², figure², vision², colour², aspect², advent², facade², visage²
7 letters: arrival³, bearing², seeming², pretext²
8 letters: evidence³, presence², likeness², demeanor³, pretense², pretence, phantasm³
9 letters: appearing³, emergence³, spectacle³, semblance², demeanour³
10 letters: phenomenon⁴, apparition⁴
13 letters: manifestation⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (color² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: apparition
Español: aparición
Català: aparició