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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
Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2026
The city of North Miami is speaking out after several units in a local apartment complex were deemed unsafe, forcing residents to move out with little notice.
—Nikiya Carrero, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2026
The city of North Miami is speaking out after several units in an apartment complex were deemed unsafe, forcing residents to move out with little notice.
—Nikiya Carrero, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026
The administration is also expected to make more use of Section 232 of Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to impose tariffs on goods deemed to be threats to national security after an investigation by the Commerce Department.
—Paul Wiseman, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 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 Mar. 2026.
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