appear vs appear to

Both 'appear' and 'appear to' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Appear' is used when describing how something looks or seems, while 'appear to' is used when expressing an opinion or belief about something. It's important to choose the correct one based on the intended meaning.

Last updated: March 26, 2024 • 927 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"appear"

Use 'appear' when describing how something looks or seems. For example, 'The sun appears bright in the sky.'

Examples:

The magician made a rabbit appear out of a hat.
She appeared tired after a long day at work.
The island appears to be uninhabited.
The stars appear to twinkle in the night sky.
The situation appears to be under control.

Show examples from the web [+]

Hallucinations may appear after the experiment.
Scatter labels can randomly appear over any card.
These Sun might appear even more expensive.
Drinkwater made it appear expedient to Doug.
Expanding Wild symbols cannot appear in Adrenaline Free Spins.
After accidental intramuscular injection, hypoglycaemia may appear.
New infectious diseases appear or reappear every few years.
Their machines appear as round blobs.
The predators usually appear at sunset.
The command functions appear to be distributed through various...
He and Conrad certainly appear cozy.
Today, cancer detection happens mainly when symptoms appear.
Zombieism doesn't appear able to jump across species.
Lead poisoning symptoms don't appear this suddenly though.
These mutations appear to reduce wolframin activity dramatically.
Females appear to prefer males with larger masks.
Works in siciliana rhythm appear occasionally in the Classical period.
All three main characters appear in almost every episode.
Mesalazine and rifaximin appear useful for preventing attacks in those with diverticulosis.
Suddenly, Centros appear and chase Leda.

Alternatives:

seem
look like
give the impression of
come across as
show signs of

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"appear to"

Use 'appear to' when expressing an opinion or belief about something. For example, 'She appears to be upset about something.'

Examples:

He appears to have lost weight recently.
The project appears to be moving forward smoothly.
The cat appears to be sleeping peacefully.
The data appears to support the hypothesis.
She appears to be a talented musician.

Show examples from the web [+]

Skin does not appear to metabolize fentanyl delivered transdermally.
Swallowing difficulties appear to be dose-dependent.
All appear to have been taking the same...
Most policyholders affected appear to be of advanced age.
These expectations appear to have influenced significantly their subsequent perceptions.
Sometimes the infringements appear to pass unnoticed.
This would appear to discriminate against single occupiers.
Prices appear to be highly correlated across geographic regions worldwide.
She imagines a romance with the magician that doesn't appear to be reciprocal.
I appear to be in some sort of storeroom.
The prints appear to be from the same person.
You appear to have had quite the adventure since then.
You appear to have had quite the adventure since then.
Pleas from the first officer also appear to have been ignored.
That would appear to be a lie.
Except Stillwater Imports doesn't appear to have any ongoing business activity.
Did not appear to involve the trachea.
The sands of the hourglass appear to be speeding up.
Doesn't appear to have been under treatment.
We can't appear to be protecting our own.

Alternatives:

seem to
look like
give the impression of being
come across as being
show signs of being

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appear vs appear to

"appear"

"appear to"

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