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 big moments, including Saturday, the Wolverines didn’t seem to trust their quarterback. —Austin Meek, New York Times, 30 Nov. 2025

Leaving Notre Dame does not seem to be of interest to Freeman right now. —Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Nov. 2025

Gloria Vanderbilt Women’s Amanda High-rise Tapered Jeans Finding a pair of comfortable, flattering, petite-friendly jeans may seem like an impossible task, but with thousands of five-star reviews, these Gloria Vanderbilt jeans are clearly a favorite among shorter shoppers. —Melony Forcier, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025

But what seemed like a whirlwind romance now appears like a scheme to lure Novak into a fake crypto investment. —Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 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