Definition
To emerge is to rise out of hiding into sight. The Latin emergere meant exactly 'to rise out of water' — mergere, 'to dip', also gave us 'submerge' — and the word still carries that geometry: whatever emerges existed before you saw it, growing somewhere below the surface. Facts emerge from investigations, patterns emerge from data, butterflies emerge from cocoons, nations emerge from crises. The appearance is sudden; the rising never was.
Examples
- New details emerged from the investigation over the following weeks.
- After the recession, the company emerged stronger than its competitors.
- A clear pattern began to emerge from the survey data.
Collocations
emerge from·emerge as·emerging economies·a pattern emerges·it emerged that
Synonyms
appear·surface·arise·materialize·come to light
Antonyms
disappear·vanish·submerge
Word family
emergence (noun)·emergent (adjective)·emerging (adjective)
In TOEFL & IELTS
Everywhere in TOEFL reading: 'it emerged that…' signals revealed evidence, and 'the emergence of X' frames whole history passages. 'Emerging economies/technologies/markets' are fixed phrases worth owning for IELTS essays. In writing, 'a pattern emerges from the data' is a precise, high-band move. Related noun trap: 'emergency' grew from the same root but no longer shares the meaning.