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

Regardless of Söderblom’s play next season, the backup spot behind Knight seems to have Drew Commesso’s name on it. —Kalen Lumpkins, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026

Something about Milwaukee during the regular season seems to disagree with the Dodgers. —Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2026

Speaking to IndieWire a couple days after the film’s premiere, Koreeda, in his own quiet way, seemed aware of this muted response. —Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 22 May 2026

Meanwhile, Minnesota seems to be the fraud capital these days. —Rob Crilly, The Washington Examiner, 22 May 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