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manifest

adjective · verb · noun

Simple meaning

Obvious to the understanding.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

manuhfest

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmænəfɛst

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Obvious to the understanding; apparent to the mind; easily apprehensible; plain; not obscure or hidden.

  2. Evident to the senses, especially to the sight; apparent; distinctly perceived.

verb

  1. transitive

    To show plainly; to make to appear distinctly, usually to the mind; to put beyond question or doubt; to display; to exhibit.

  2. Record in a ship's manifest

  3. intransitive

    To become manifest; to be revealed.

  4. transitive

    To exhibit the manifests or prepared invoices of; to declare at the customhouse.

noun

  1. A list or invoice of the passengers or goods being carried by a commercial vehicle or ship.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Obvious to the understanding; apparent to the mind; easily apprehensible; plain; not obscure or hidden.

Used this way, manifest is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use manifest

  • “The ghost manifests each year on the same day.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

manifest destinymanifest contentmanifest anxiety

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • obvious

    Easily perceived by the senses or grasped by the mind.

  • patent

    Explicit and obvious.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • manifestationnounDerived noun

    A clear appearance.

  • manifestlyadverbDerived adverb

    Unmistakably (`plain' is often used informally for `plainly').

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • manifest destinynounCompound term

    A policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable (as if granted by God).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

adjective

Sense: obvious to the understanding

apparentplain

verb

Sense: to show plainly

plain

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.