Apparent

Part of speech: noun (n.)

An heir apparent. [Obs.] I'll draw it [the sword] as apparent to the crown. Shak.

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Capable of being seen, or easily seen; open to view; visible to the eye; within sight or view. The moon . . . apparent queen. Milton.

2. Clear or manifest to the understanding; plain; evident; obvious; known; palpable; indubitable. It is apparent foul play. Shak.

3. Appearing to the eye or mind (distinguished from, but not necessarily opposed to, true or real); seeming; as the apparent motion or diameter of the sun. To live on terms of civility, and even of apparent friendship. Macaulay. What Berkeley calls visible magnitude was by astronomers called apparent magnitude. Reid. Apparent horizon, the circle which in a level plain bounds our view, and is formed by the apparent meeting of the earth and heavens, as distinguished from the rational horizon. -- Apparent time. See Time. -- Heir apparent (Law), one whose to an estate is indefeasible if he survives the ancestor; -- in distinction from presumptive heir. See Presumptive.

Synonyms: Visible; distinct; plain; obvious; clear; certain; evident; manifest; indubitable; notorious.