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Definition of apparent adjective from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

      

    apparent

     adjective
    adjective
    NAmE//əˈpɛrənt//
     
    , NAmE//əˈpærənt//
     
     
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  1. 1[not usually before noun] easy to see or understand synonym obvious Their devotion was apparent. Then, for no apparent reason, the train suddenly stopped. apparent (from something) (that…) It was apparent from her face that she was really upset. apparent (to somebody) (that…) It soon became apparent to everyone that he couldn't sing. Thesaurusclear
    • obvious
    • apparent
    • evident
    • plain
    These words all describe something that is easy to see or understand and leaves no doubts or confusion.
    • clear easy to see or understand and leaving no doubts:Her instructions were very clear.
    • obvious easy to see or understand:I don't understand how you missed such an obvious error.
    • apparent [not usually before noun] (somewhat formal) easy to see or understand:It soon became apparent that everything had gone wrong.
    • evident (somewhat formal) easy to see or understand:The orchestra played with evident enjoyment.
    • plain easy to see or understand:He made it very plain that he wanted us to leave.
    which word?These words all have almost exactly the same meaning. There are slight differences in register and patterns of use. If you make something clear/plain, you do so deliberately because you want people to understand something; if you make something obvious, you usually do it without meaning to:I hope I make myself obvious. Try not to make it so clear/plain.In the expressions clear majority, for obvious reasons, for no apparent reason, and plain to see, none of the other words can be used instead. You can have a clear/an obvious/a plain case of something but not:an evident case of something.Patterns
    • clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain to somebody/something
    • clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain that/what/who/how/where/why…
    • to seem/become/make something clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
    • perfectly/quite/very clear/obvious/apparent/evident/plain
     Language Bankillustratereferring to a chart, graph, or table
    • This bar chart illustrates how many journeys people made on public transportation over a three-month period.
    • This table compares bus, train, and taxi use between April and June.
    • The results are shown in the chart below.
    • In this pie chart, the survey results are broken down by age.
    • This pie chart breaks down the survey results by age.
    • As can be seen from these results, younger people use buses more than older people.
    • According to these figures, bus travel accounts for 60% of public transportation use.
    • From the data in the above graph, it is apparent that buses are the most widely used form of public transportation.
  2. 2[usually before noun] that seems to be real or true but may not be synonym seeming My parents were concerned at my apparent lack of enthusiasm for school. Their affluence is more apparent than real (= they are not as rich as they seem to be). see appear
See apparent in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
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