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

At every opportunity, Chris Brown seemed to be waiting in the wings, backflipping in Ne-Yo’s face, proving his dream of a certain era was long gone. — Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026

But just as the night seemed to be wrapping up, Tarantino surprised the crowd at the TCL Chinese Theater with a first look at The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, showing off the first 17 minutes of the follow-up film. — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2026

Besides the Fly&Vote initiative, several other efforts to bring in voters seem to be under way. — Daniel Brook, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026

An honor that seems to bring things full circle for that stubborn little girl who dreamed of performing on stages around the world from her farm. — Ilaria Perrotta, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 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