come across (as)

verb

Definition of come across (as)next
as in to seem
to give the impression of being the law professor comes across as a bit of an ogre at first, but he's actually quite personable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for come across (as)
  1. seem
  2. feel
  3. look
  4. sound
Verb
  • The shop claimed to have reached out to clear the air, however that air does not seem to be getting any clearer.
    — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026
  • One of the other things that Claude noticed was that these array of associated reverse transcriptases seem to be isolated to jumbo phages, which have very large genomes for bacteriophage.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of seem
Verb
  • The kitchen is tucked away in the back, but the skylight keeps it from feeling too cavelike.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The coupling of violence with law and order is ever present in the agent’s recollections, but tonally, the show feels light.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of feel
Verb
  • The pain is as big as the whole island and everything on it, looking behind every door, looking under every tree.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The fear of looking replaceable also appears in a 2024 Microsoft and LinkedIn survey.
    — Christoph Trattner, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of look
Verb
  • Eldridge sounds wistful, speculating about the person who might have worn them.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • This agenda might sound overly audacious, given that Iran has been materially weakened.
    — Narges Bajoghli, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of sound
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

come across
come across (as)
come again
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Come across (as).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/come%20across%20%28as%29. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All