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seem

verb
\ ˈsēm How to pronounce seem (audio) \
seemed; seeming; seems

Definition of seem

intransitive verb

1 : to appear to the observation or understanding
2 : to give the impression of being
Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about seem

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Examples of seem in a Sentence

What they're doing doesn't seem right to me. I tried to cheer them up because they seemed depressed.

Recent Examples on the Web

 And his brand of conservatism seemed to be on the rise. — Ben Terris, Washington Post, "Justin Amash was part of the conservative in-crowd. Now he’s trying to figure out who his real friends are.," 3 Sep. 2019 My belief is that both are way overvalued, which seems to help many of venture investors (especially Softbank) that get to show an increase in value on their earlier round investments. — Polina Marinova, Fortune, "The Case For (and Against) Investing in WeWork: Term Sheet," 3 Sep. 2019 But the 39-year-old pastor and Army veteran who served in Iraq seemed to handle the mix-up just fine. — Billy Kobin, The Courier-Journal, "'I'm a victim of a drive-by tweet': Kentucky pastor mistakenly flamed by miffed Trump," 3 Sep. 2019 The 13 Reasons Why fan thinks Deputy Standall actually helped Monty escape prison and is holding him in a safehouse, though that theory seems less likely, since Deputy Standall has a hunch his son Alex had something to do with Bryce's murder. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "Some "13 Reasons Why" Fans Think They've Figured Out Whether Monty is Really Dead," 3 Sep. 2019 The names of hurricanes may change, but one thing seems to stay the same: Misinformation spreads quickly during these dangerous storms. — Fox News, "Count on hurricanes to spark storms of online misinformation," 2 Sep. 2019 Cathy had a profound love for animals and brought home the dogs and cats no one else seemed to want; her latest a senior Jack Russel Terrier named Marco who was her loyal companion. — courant.com, "Catherine Ann Glavas," 1 Sep. 2019 And her children seemed to love their mother fiercely in return. — Zoe Greenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "‘We don’t know the answer’: A community is stunned after BU student is killed," 31 Aug. 2019 Their two excellent chariots seemed to be one, and the two warriors but a single individual. — Girish Shahane, Quartz India, "The Amazon fires have a 3,000-year-old parallel in the Indian epic Mahabharata," 30 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seem.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of seem

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for seem

Middle English semen to appear to be, be fitting, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse sœma to honor, sœmr fitting, samr same — more at same

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More Definitions for seem

seem

verb
How to pronounce seem (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of seem

: to appear to be something or to do something : to have a quality, appearance, etc., that shows or suggests a particular characteristic, feeling, etc.
—used with it to make a statement about what appears to be true based on what is known
—used to make a statement less definite or more polite —followed by to + verb —often used in negative statements

See the full definition for seem in the English Language Learners Dictionary

seem

verb
\ ˈsēm How to pronounce seem (audio) \
seemed; seeming

Kids Definition of seem

1 : to give the impression of being : appear They certainly seemed pleased.
2 —used to make a statement less forceful or more polite I can't seem to recall where we met.

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More from Merriam-Webster on seem

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with seem

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for seem

Spanish Central: Translation of seem

Nglish: Translation of seem for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of seem for Arabic Speakers

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