appear-v; 4 Senses

Sense Number 1: be or have a quality of being

Commentary: Syntax Is: NP1 APPEAR COMP
NOTE: NP1 may be a dummy subject like 'it.'

Examples:
This appears to be a very difficult problem.
It appeared to be a very bad accident.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: Appearance
PropBank: appear.02
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1, 4

Sense Number 2: come forth, become known or visible, either physically or figuratively

Examples:
John's real father, whom he'd never met, appeared at the wedding.
A new star appeared on the horizon.
Did your latest book appear yet?
No major new talents have appeared on Broadway for many years.
Homo sapiens appeared millions of years ago.

Mappings:
VerbNet: appear-48.1.1
FrameNet: Coming_to_be
PropBank: appear.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 2, 3, 5

Sense Number 3: perform

Examples:
Which operas did Renee Fleming appear in last season?
Gielgud appears briefly in this movie.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 6

Sense Number 4: present oneself formally, usually in a legal setting.

Examples:
She appeared on several charges of theft.
I had to appear in traffic court last week.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NM
FrameNet: NM
PropBank: NM
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 7