Definition of DEEMING

Synonyms for deem

Synonyms

Did You Know?

In the Middle Ages, "demen" was a fateful word. Closely related to "doom," this precursor of deem meant "to act as a judge" or "to sentence, condemn, or decree." These meanings passed to "deem" itself, but we haven't used "deem" to mean "legally condemn" since the early 17th century. Though "deem" is still frequently used in law contexts, today it means "judge" only in a broader sense of "to decide (something specified) regarding," as in "the act was deemed unlawful" or "the defendant is deemed to have agreed to the contract." Outside of the law, "deem" usually means simply "to consider." Some usage commentators consider "deem" pretentious, but its use is well established in both literary and journalistic contexts. We deem it perfectly acceptable.

Examples of deem in a Sentence

The principal will take whatever action she deems appropriate in this case. I deem it fitting that we mark this solemn occasion with a day of prayer and thanksgiving.

Recent Examples on the Web

Moye issued stern rebukes to all of them at one point or another, often for interruptions or statements deemed inappropriate. — Sarah Sarder, Dallas News, "Days after fatal South Dallas shootout, judge grants temporary restraining order on Jim's Car Wash," 6 June 2019 As Americans continue to be divided by a vast chasm on gun-control legislation, laws to temporarily take firearms from people deemed threats are showing rare promise of bipartisan appeal. — Zusha Elinson, WSJ, "The One Type of Gun Control Gaining Bipartisan Support," 2 June 2019 Her choice of dress drew an instant negative reaction: the French Tennis Federation deemed the outfit a disrespect to the game and a violation of the tournament’s dress code and, as a result, banned catsuits from future matches entirely. — Vogue, "Serena Williams’s Custom Off-White Outfit at the French Open Sent a Message," 27 May 2019 The entire trip was under three miles, a distance deemed short enough for all teams involved to feel confident that the drone could carry the kidney. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "This Drone Just Successfully Delivered a Transplant Kidney for the First Time Ever," 2 May 2019 The state agency found that more than 90% of the cases were closed before the amount of lead in kids' blood had dropped to levels deemed safe by the state. — Ahmed Elbenni, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Mayor Tom Barrett has nominated a new Health Department commissioner. Here are the problems facing the agency," 12 July 2018 Vitti has been up against a curriculum deemed weak and outdated by an audit, and an independent review of facilities that found $500 million is needed to fix the district's school buildings. — Lori Higgins, Detroit Free Press, "Appeal planned in Detroit literacy lawsuit tossed by federal judge," 2 July 2018 Hongwei Ouyang, one of the study authors, tells ScienceAlert that the matrix gel, as it has been deemed, could be ready within 3 to 5 years. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "New Bio Glue Stops Post-Traumatic Bleeding in Its Tracks," 14 May 2019 But certainly one of the goals was to have the ability to remove an unstable or unfit president from office if it was deemed necessary for the sake of the country. — Sean Illing, Vox, "Can the 25th Amendment be invoked to remove Trump from office? I asked one of its authors.," 14 Feb. 2019

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