seem

verb

ˈsēm 

seemed; seeming; seems

intransitive verb

1

: to appear to the observation or understanding

2

: to give the impression of being

Synonyms of seem

• look
• feel
• sound
• appear

Examples of seem in a Sentence

What they're doing doesn't seem right to me.

I tried to cheer them up because they seemed depressed.

Recent Examples on the Web

After an Anthropic employee inquired with Palantir about Claude’s role in the raid, a Palantir senior executive, who was alarmed by Anthropic’s seeming disapproval, notified the Pentagon, Semafor reported earlier. —Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 25 Feb. 2026

There were virtually no children, and very few younger couples or teenagers—and those who were there seemed to be guests of their parents or grandparents. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Feb. 2026

Nothing was said or done in the roughly 35 minutes the candidates devoted to themselves that seemed likely to change the dynamic or trajectory of a race that remains stubbornly ill-defined and, to an unprecedented degree in modern times, wide open. —Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026

The Kyrie opens with a strong D-major chord in the large orchestra that seems an obvious downbeat but turns out to be an upbeat. —Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English semen to appear to be, be fitting, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse sœma to honor, sœmr fitting, samr same — more at same

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for seem

• beam
• bream
• cream
• creme
• deem
• dream
• gleam
• meme
• ream
• scheme
• scream
• seam

Kids Definition

seem

verb

ˈsēm 

1

: to give the impression of being : appear

the request seems reasonable

2

a

: to appear to a person's own mind or opinion

can't seem to solve the problem

b

: to appear to be

there seems no reason for worry