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

One of her pieces, which resembles ancient Egyptian stones, depicts Vanessa Williams dancing at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show. —Hikmat Mohammed, Footwear News, 16 Oct. 2025

While these relatives possessed human-like hand proportions, their grip strength more likely resembled one of today’s great apes. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 16 Oct. 2025

The fountain, which resembles a tumbling mess of boxy concrete tubes, some nearly forty feet high, has long been controversial. —News Desk, Artforum, 16 Oct. 2025

However, the dark matter theory more closely resembles the results of their simulations. —Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 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