Definition of "Appearance"

The appearance definition isn’t as one might expect. The term itself is used in different ways, but they all are connected with perception or how something or someone is seen or perceived by another party. While appearance is also used to state the physical location, arrival, or presence of someone, for example, someone making an appearance by showing up in a particular place, the word is most often used from a philosophical perspective.

What is the Definition of Appearance?

The most well-grounded definition of appearance is the one that limits the term appearance into the physical. The act or fact of appearing is used to describe someone’s physical appearance in front of the eye and the mind of the public. This same meaning is often used as a term in legal practices for someone coming into a court proceeding.

However, going into the less grounded meanings and uses of the word, we get into the philosophical explanation. The term appearance, in philosophy, regards something or someone that seems to be based on the perception of a thing and not its objective reality. 

Through philosophy, the term appearance is used in contradiction with reality. From the cosmologies that governed Asia Minor to Plato, Kant, and Indian philosophy, there was a distinguishable difference between appearance and reality, the first not being a synonym of the other but, in a way, its opposite. The reason for that is that appearance is based on our perception of the truth, while the reality is based on facts and logic. Because of that, today’s usage of the term appearance is split. On the one hand, we have the physical appearance as presence; on the other, we have the manner, condition, state of appearance based on perception.

Some synonyms of the word appearance are air, aspect, arrival, coming, figure, look, manner, mien, presence, and pretense.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

The phrase used for the period in which the escrow agent communicates to both the buyer and the seller as to what documents or moneys have to be deposited with the escrow agent to satisfy ...

The term apportionment can be easily applied to many contexts. For example, apportionment in insurance is concerned with how the loss is allocated between two or more insurance companies ...

Founded in1934 and located in Chicago, IL with a 1993 membership of 8,300, the IAAO seeks to ameliorate assessment standards as well as to perform ongoing property assessment research. The ...

Power or strength of economic factors an variables influencing the real estate market. For example, real estate values may decline in times of recession because people cannot afford to buy ...

Generic name given for any association of property owners sharing an interest in commonly owned property. Community associations may be developed in condominium, cooperative, or housing ...

Written obligation of a borrower that is backed by collateral in the event of default. The lender must assure himself that the market value of the security equals or exceeds the amount of ...

Type of investment company that invests money in mortgages and various types of investment in real estate, in order to earn profits for shareholders. Shareholders receive income from the ...

The meaning of a guarantee covers a legal and financially-binding agreement signed between three parties involved in real estate or financial transactions. In this document, typically ...

In real estate and across the nation, you will see different types of house structures, frames, and aspects. One of those is the A-frame type. This is an architectural style that leans ...

Popular Real Estate Questions