seemingly

adverb

seem·​ing·​ly ˈsē-miŋ-lē 

: outwardly or apparently

—used to indicate how something appears or seems

a seemingly simple problem [=a problem that seems simple]

a seemingly endless project [=a project that seems to have no end]

The balance of nature—an ideal state in which every species is in its right place—is seemingly being upended.

—Bryan Walsh

These were years in which seemingly every city authority from Adelaide to Oslo had set its heart on the construction of an unsurpassably iconic building …

—Ellis Woodman

Then, in 1929, taste arbiter Emily Post sanctioned a seemingly irreversible shift in manners: "No rule of etiquette is of less importance than which fork we use."

—Douglas Brenner

Dumbledore had most of the remaining Death Eaters grouped in the middle of the room, seemingly immobilized by invisible ropes.

—J. K. Rowling

Synonyms

• apparently
• supposedly
• ostensibly
• evidently
• probably
• presumably

Examples of seemingly in a Sentence

a seemingly contented baby who was fast asleep in his crib

Recent Examples on the Web

The major inciting incident saw Carano sharing a post from another account that seemingly compared the treatment of conservatives in the U.S. during the COVID pandemic to that of Jewish people during Nazi-era Germany. —Carson Blackwelder, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025

Swift and Kelce famously started dating in the summer of 2023, and seemingly first confirmed their romance when Swift started popping up at his NFL games in September of that year. —Lauren Huff, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2025

One interpretation is that if an AI maker has a generic generative AI that also happens to provide mental health advice, and if this is taking place without the supervision of a licensed professional, and this occurs in Illinois, the AI maker is seemingly in violation of this law. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025

Lee Anne Schmitt’s fleet and intricate essay film about the Olin Corporation, a longtime manufacturer of ammunition and chemicals, considers the company’s seemingly bottomless reach in modern life and its place in her own family. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above