resemble

verb

re·​sem·​ble ri-ˈzem-bəl 

resembled; resembling ri-ˈzem-b(ə-)liŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to be like or similar to

he resembles his father

2

archaic : to represent as like

Examples of resemble in a Sentence

He strongly resembles his father in appearance and in temperament.

Terrier dogs closely resemble each other.

Recent Examples on the Web

These jeans from Amazon, complete with functional pockets and a roomy, lightweight design, closely resemble one of Gaines’ go-to pairs. —Averi Baudler, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025

Stratton wore a bra that resembled the old Diva’s Championship. —Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025

The wily sneaker, all black with a design that resembles real-life Air Jordans, sees Ty as a mark and wants to steal the naive shoe’s bling — the diamonds and gold accents on his body. —Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 18 Apr. 2025

Confidence in Trump’s economic measures resemble the statistics from his first term. —Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English resemblen, rasemblen "to be like, compare," borrowed from Anglo-French resembler, rasembler "to be like, appear to be, compare (to)" (also continental Old French), from re- re- + sembler "to look like, seem to be" — more at semblance

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for resemble

• semble
• tremble
• assemble
• dissemble
• disassemble
• reassemble

Kids Definition

resemble

verb

re·​sem·​ble ri-ˈzem-bəl 

resembled; resembling -b(ə-)liŋ 

: to be like or similar to

he resembles his father