The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Appear \Ap*pear"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Appeared; p. pr. & vb.
   n. Appearing.] [OE. apperen, aperen, OF. aparoir, F.
   apparoir, fr. L. appar?re to appear + par?reto come forth, to
   be visible; prob. from the same root as par?re to produce.
   Cf. Apparent, Parent, Peer, v. i.]
   1. To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.
      [1913 Webster]

            And God . . . said, Let . . . the dry land appear.
                                                  --Gen. i. 9.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To come before the public; as, a great writer appeared at
      that time.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. To stand in presence of some authority, tribunal, or
      superior person, to answer a charge, plead a cause, or the
      like; to present one's self as a party or advocate before
      a court, or as a person to be tried.
      [1913 Webster]

            We must all appear before the judgment seat. --2
                                                  Cor. v. 10.
      [1913 Webster]

            One ruffian escaped because no prosecutor dared to
            appear.                               --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. To become visible to the apprehension of the mind; to be
      known as a subject of observation or comprehension, or as
      a thing proved; to be obvious or manifest.
      [1913 Webster]

            It doth not yet appear what we shall be. --1 John
                                                  iii. 2.
      [1913 Webster]

            Of their vain contest appeared no end. --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.
      [1913 Webster]

            They disfigure their faces, that they may appear
            unto men to fast.                     --Matt. vi.
                                                  16.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: To seem; look. See Seem.
        [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Appear \Ap*pear"\, n.
   Appearance. [Obs.] --J. Fletcher.
   [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

appear
    v 1: give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect;
         "She seems to be sleeping"; "This appears to be a very
         difficult problem"; "This project looks fishy"; "They
         appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a long
         time" [syn: look, appear, seem]
    2: come into sight or view; "He suddenly appeared at the
       wedding"; "A new star appeared on the horizon" [ant:
       disappear, go away, vanish]
    3: be issued or published; "Did your latest book appear yet?";
       "The new Woody Allen film hasn't come out yet" [syn:
       appear, come out]
    4: seem to be true, probable, or apparent; "It seems that he is
       very gifted"; "It appears that the weather in California is
       very bad" [syn: appear, seem]
    5: come into being or existence, or appear on the scene; "Then
       the computer came along and changed our lives"; "Homo sapiens
       appeared millions of years ago" [syn: appear, come along]
       [ant: disappear, vanish]
    6: appear as a character on stage or appear in a play, etc.;
       "Gielgud appears briefly in this movie"; "She appeared in
       `Hamlet' on the London stage"
    7: present oneself formally, as before a (judicial) authority;
       "He had to appear in court last month"; "She appeared on
       several charges of theft"

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

123 Moby Thesaurus words for "appear":
   act, act as foil, appear like, approach, arise, arrive, assister,
   attend, barnstorm, be at, be evident, be noticeable, be present at,
   be revealed, be seen, be visible, become known, become manifest,
   become visible, break forth, catch, chance, come, come along,
   come forth, come forward, come in sight, come into being,
   come into existence, come on, come out, come to, come to hand,
   come to light, come up, crop out, crop up, do, draw on, emanate,
   emerge, emote, emotionalize, enter, fade in, feel, figure, get out,
   get top billing, glare, go to, happen, have no secrets,
   heave in sight, issue, issue forth, leak out, look, look forth,
   look like, look on, loom, loom large, manifest itself, materialize,
   meet the gaze, mime, occur, open up, out, outcrop, pantomime,
   patter, peep out, perform, play, play the lead, playact, pop up,
   present itself, rear its head, register, rise, see, see the light,
   seem, seem like, seem to be, shine out, shine through, show,
   show its colors, show its face, show through, show up, sit in,
   sketch, sound, sound like, speak out, speak up, spring, spring up,
   stand forth, stand out, stand revealed, star, steal the show,
   stooge, stream forth, strike the eye, surface, take a stand,
   take in, transpire, tread the boards, troupe, turn up, upstage,
   vise, visit, watch, witness