seem

verb

ˈsēm 

seemed; seeming; seems

intransitive verb

1

: to appear to the observation or understanding

2

: to give the impression of being

Synonyms

• 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

Many wonder why the media and the noisy protesters at American universities seem to understand how to bring the war to a conclusion. —Chicago Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025

Brute force, denial of human rights and locking people in conditions that seem unfit for animals do not make law enforcement more efficient or effective. —Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025

The bottom line is that none of these characters, after the swap, seem different enough from themselves to allow the comedy to detonate. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025

As of now, The Hunting Wives is only licensed to Netflix for U.S. distribution — not that that seems to have impacted its performance very much. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025

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