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Looking for a word that means "coming out of hiding."

I mean literally the physical act of coming out, like:

'something had scared me and I hid under a blanket or behind a rock, and then gradually got the courage to ___________ (come back out)'

I was thinking "emerge" but you could emerge for many reasons unrelated to fear.

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  • The common and most natural way to express this is not a single word; it's "emerge from hiding." "Unhide" is a word, but I've never seen it used in the context of "coming out of hiding"; rather, it's used in computing (e.g. unhide the menu bar).
    – pyobum
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 5:05
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    You can also hide for many reasons unrelated to fear. Is fear a necessary part of the word you're looking for?
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 8:23
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    I'd suggest reemerge better conveys the idea that some threat has subsided.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 21:20
  • Since your example used scared as well as hid, what's the logic for the 'unhide' word to intrinsically reference fear?
    – Spagirl
    Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 21:27
  • @Spagirl the quoted example was an edit by someone else
    – user25705
    Commented Dec 16, 2016 at 0:34

3 Answers 3

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Reemerge

Strictly speaking, it means to emerge again.

Emerge:

verb (used without object), emerged, emerging. 1. to come forth into view or notice, as from concealment or obscurity:

reemerge. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reemerge (accessed: December 16, 2016).

However, there is a common and somewhat figurative usage that implies the passing of an event and the beginning of a return to normalcy or the familiar. This seems to be something of an off-label usage, and the examples I dug up from decent sources seem to show a self-conscious effort to explain what is perfectly obvious. So I can only suggest that this usage is informal.

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You should consider resurfacing though I remember seeing it used in larger contexts than, say, hiding under blankets.

'something had scared me and I hid under a blanket or behind a rock, and then gradually got the courage to resurface'

ODO:

resurface VERB

2.2 (of a person) come out of hiding or obscurity:
‘he resurfaced under a false identity in Australia’

‘The crooks face a few setbacks but they soon resurface when the heat dies down.’

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Is the danger still present? Then maybe you crept out or slithered away or flitted away on the breeze. Not sure? Then perhaps you scampered off or popped up, head swiveling, ears akimbo or darted to the door. Maybe no one saw you until you materialized where a tree had been earlier, or vaporized into the mist (in your room, I've seen your room, it's misty) or bolted from the rock into the valley beyond. Big personality? Maybe you exploded into view, then sauntered off, nonchalantly. You might erupt or burst or just appear. It depends on who or what is emerging and what scared them and what they do after emerging, context is key in keeping character connected to story. Story is king.

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