Difference between Look and Appear

What is the difference between Look and Appear?

Look as a verb is to try to see, to pay attention to with one's eyes. while Appear as a verb is to come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.

Look

Part of speech: noun

Definition: The action of looking, an attempt to see. Physical appearance, visual impression. A facial expression.

Part of speech: verb

Definition: To try to see, to pay attention to with one's eyes. To appear, to seem. To give an appearance of being. To search for, to try to find. To face or present a view. To expect or anticipate. To express or manifest by a look. To make sure of, to see to.

Example sentence: I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.

Appear

Part of speech: verb

Definition: To come or be in sight; to be in view; to become visible.To come before the public.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.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.To seem; to have a certain semblance; to look.

Example sentence: I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.

We hope you now know whether to use Look or Appear in your sentence.

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