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

Indicating that anything resembled the tactics and smears of the late senator from Wisconsin has been enough to suggest that such behavior was out of bounds, with no rightful place in our modern politics. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026

Lawyers allege that what began as routine use of Gemini for writing and travel planning evolved into what resembled a romantic relationship with the chatbot. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Mar. 2026

Jackson’s fans thirsted to know more about this singer who looked and sounded like the King of Pop (and even released a pre-Thriller album cover that resembled that classic album). —Greg Poole, Rolling Stone, 5 Mar. 2026

Images of the first design show what resembles the rear axle and wheels of an orange toy truck strapped across the turtle and secured to Moses by a harness over the top of its shell. —Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 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