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

Some of these applications may resemble advanced analytics more than futuristic AI. — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026

The vehicles, which date back to the 1960s, resemble buses that raise to dock at concourses and lower to travel, are often packed with mostly standing passengers and move among airport traffic. — Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 29 July 2026

Stewart reached for a distressed denim shirt that resembles the silhouette and wash of this Quince chore jacket. — Rachel Trujillo, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

At the Lortel, her one-woman show plays out on a candlestick-heavy gothic set by Derek McLane that resembles a Barbie Dreamhouse modded for a Meat Loaf video, and Cohen enters in an haute-Ren-faire pink maiden’s dress by Kelsey Randall. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 28 July 2026

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