Did you know?
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.
Cite this Entry
“Deem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deem. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.
Copy Citation
