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

In terms of cargo capacity, the BMW would seem to have an advantage on the spec sheet, but Edmunds’ editors were able to fit just as much luggage behind the Q5’s back seat as the X3’s. —ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026

To change them after the fact just doesn't seem right. —Erin Jones, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026

Claude’s deployment seemed to come as something of a surprise to its parent company, and an Anthropic executive reportedly reached out to a Palantir counterpart to clarify what, exactly, Claude had done in Caracas. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2026

Sometimes these Chicago White Sox rebuilds seem to run together in your mind. —Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 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