seemingly

adverb

seem·​ing·​ly ˈsē-miŋ-lē 

: outwardly or apparently

—used to indicate how something appears or seems

a seemingly simple problem [=a problem that seems simple]

a seemingly endless project [=a project that seems to have no end]

The balance of nature—an ideal state in which every species is in its right place—is seemingly being upended.

—Bryan Walsh

These were years in which seemingly every city authority from Adelaide to Oslo had set its heart on the construction of an unsurpassably iconic building …

—Ellis Woodman

Then, in 1929, taste arbiter Emily Post sanctioned a seemingly irreversible shift in manners: "No rule of etiquette is of less importance than which fork we use."

—Douglas Brenner

Dumbledore had most of the remaining Death Eaters grouped in the middle of the room, seemingly immobilized by invisible ropes.

—J. K. Rowling

Synonyms of seemingly

• apparently
• supposedly
• ostensibly
• evidently
• probably
• presumably

Examples of seemingly in a Sentence

a seemingly contented baby who was fast asleep in his crib

Recent Examples on the Web

Budget-conscious passengers, many of them young, formed a seemingly endless security line snaking around the rotunda, which features a twelve-foot-high mural depicting the history of flight. —John Cassidy, New Yorker, 11 May 2026

Since then, De Zerbi has seemingly agreed with Carragher’s analysis. —Jay Harris, New York Times, 11 May 2026

In taking on such an iconic figure—one whose compositions have been deconstructed and reconstructed in seemingly every possible direction—the group risks revealing the method to its madness. —Levi Dayan, Pitchfork, 11 May 2026

That momentum also seemingly carried into 2026, with net sales surging 80 percent year-to-date, powered by gains across the business, the representative said. —Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 11 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above