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 first glance, the assignment to turn Lestat into a rock star seemed straightforward. —Precious Fondren, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026

The consensus seems to be that the Mavs will target a point guard, which makes sense as the Mavs’ current lead guard, Kyrie Irving, is 34 and missed all of last season recovering from a torn ACL. —Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 June 2026

Also on Monday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemed to confirm that at least part of the couple’s wedding festivities will take place in New York over Fourth of July weekend. —Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 20 June 2026

Labour has teetered on the edge of one for weeks after those disastrous local election results, and only Burnham’s inability to run before now seems to have delayed one. —Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 20 June 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