Meaning & use
manifest
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To show a quality, feeling, or condition clearly, so that it can be seen or noticed.
Grammar: Often reflexive: the problem manifested itself; the object is the thing shown.
Patterns
- manifest itself
- manifest something
The disease first manifested itself as a mild rash.
He manifested no interest in their offer.
verbintransitiveformal
To appear or become noticeable, especially of symptoms, problems, or feelings.
Grammar: No object; commonly followed by in or as: symptoms manifest in childhood, stress manifests as headaches.
Patterns
- manifest in something
- manifest as something
Symptoms may not manifest until middle age.
Her anxiety manifested as sleepless nights.
adjectivenot comparableformal
Clear and obvious; easy to see or understand.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after linking verbs; a formal alternative to obvious.
Patterns
- a manifest error/failure
- manifest injustice
The judge found a manifest error in the original ruling.
It was manifest to everyone that the plan had failed.
verbtransitiveinformal
To achieve or bring about a desired result by imagining it and believing strongly that it will happen.
Grammar: Takes an object naming the goal; comes from popular self-help culture and is best avoided in formal writing.
Patterns
- manifest something
- manifest your dreams
She keeps a vision board to help her manifest her goals.
He claims he manifested a new job within six months.
Word forms
| third person singular | manifests |
|---|---|
| past tense | manifested |
| past participle | manifested |
| -ing form | manifesting |
Common combinations
- manifest itself
- The weakness in the design manifested itself during the first storm.
- manifest as
- Homesickness can manifest as a loss of appetite.
- manifest symptoms
- The child manifested symptoms of the flu on Monday morning.
- a manifest error
- The appeal succeeded on the ground of a manifest error of law.
- manifest destiny
- In the 1840s, the idea of manifest destiny was used to justify westward expansion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- display
- Display is the everyday word; manifest is more formal and stresses clear outward signs.
- reveal
- Reveal suggests making known what was hidden; manifest stresses that something shows itself clearly.
- demonstrate
- Demonstrate proves something with evidence or action; manifest simply means it becomes visible.
- obvious
- Obvious and evident are everyday adjectives; manifest is a formal alternative.
Opposites
Word family
- manifestation noun
- a clear sign or showing of something
- manifestly adverb
- clearly; in a way that cannot be doubted
Practice
In some patients, the illness first ___ itself many years after the infection.
Choose one answer.
Manifest is reflexive here: the illness manifested itself. It is not followed by to, from, or for in this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “manifest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.