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If you feel a sense of doom when asked to define deem, we’re here with some details for your dome (sense 7). While today deem is used generally as a synonym of consider (as in “a movie deemed appropriate for all ages”), its origins are more formal, coming specifically from the realm of law. The oldest meaning of deem, which comes from the Old English verb dēman (relative of dōm, meaning “doom”) is “to sit in judgment upon,” as employed by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queen: “... at th’one side six Judges were dispos’d, / To view and deem the deeds of arms that day.” This sense was obsolete by the early 17th century, and other senses including “to expect or hope” have come and gone, but deem’s use overall has never dimmed. In fact, today’s most common meaning of “to come to think or judge something; to consider” has also been in use since Old English and is still deemed quite common.
Examples of deem in a Sentence
Seung Min Kim, Fortune, 9 May 2026
The four stops deemed eligible for SB 79 are the two on Park Boulevard and two transit plazas, one where Interstate 15 intersects with El Cajon Boulevard and another where I-15 intersects with University Avenue.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2026
The ability of a state to regulate medical professionals and the practice of medicine is consistent with that interest and has been deemed compliant with the First Amendment.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 8 May 2026
If a court were to deem that a fetus or embryo has the same constitutional rights as a newborn, that opens the door to arguments that a fetus’ life can’t be terminated.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deem
Cite this Entry
“Deem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deem. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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