resemble

verb

re·​sem·​ble ri-ˈzem-bəl 

resembled; resembling ri-ˈzem-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to be like or similar to

he resembles his father

2

archaic : to represent as like

Examples of resemble in a Sentence

He strongly resembles his father in appearance and in temperament.

Terrier dogs closely resemble each other.

Recent Examples on the Web

Beyond having a new wave band named after it, or more accurately, the beehive hairdo that resembled the nose cone of the aircraft, those who flew on the bomber went on to serve in prominent roles with the U.S. Air Force. —Peter Suciu, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

The display case, resembling two white doors opening up to reveal the whiskey, lights up, showing off the crystal bottle and a background of 99 decorative, gold bursts. —Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 5 Aug. 2025

The field of Iranian studies sometimes resembles a whodunit, fixated on finding a grand, overarching reason for the revolution. —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 5 Aug. 2025

The acquisition is one of many recent advancements for Joby, whose aircrafts resemble both a helicopter and a small plane. —India Brown, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English resemblen, rasemblen "to be like, compare," borrowed from Anglo-French resembler, rasembler "to be like, appear to be, compare (to)" (also continental Old French), from re- re- + sembler "to look like, seem to be" — more at semblance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for resemble

• semble
• tremble
• assemble
• dissemble
• disassemble
• reassemble

Kids Definition

resemble

verb

re·​sem·​ble ri-ˈzem-bəl 

resembled; resembling -b(ə-)liŋ 

: to be like or similar to

he resembles his father