noun

appearance

uh-PEER-uhns/əˈpɪrəns/

The way someone or something looks or seems to others.

The young man checks his tidy appearance in the mirror.

A young Black man studies his tidy reflection in a mirror.

Etymology

apLatintoward

+pearLatincome forth, be visible

+anceLatinstate or quality

The pieces turn being visible into a state or quality. For this sense, appearance is the visible form something presents—the way it looks, which can also be only a semblance.

In context

TilburgUniversity10:24

although the appearance is really really humanlike um we as The Observer can tell this is not a real human something again with the movement the eyes the skin is off

Humanoid Robots & Uncanny Valley - Studium Generale - Tilburg University

More examples

Her calm appearance concealed her nervousness.
The two plants are similar in appearance.
Do not judge a person solely by appearances.

Forms

appearance · appearances

Similar words

look: An everyday term for outward visual qualities.
semblance: Suggests an impression that may not reflect reality.