seem

verb

ˈsēm 

seemed; seeming; seems

intransitive verb

1

: to appear to the observation or understanding

2

: to give the impression of being

Synonyms

• act
• appear
• come across (as)
• come off (as)
• feel
• look
• make
• sound

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

That could be the cherry on top of the sundae for the Oilers, who seem to have the Stars figured out in almost every way. —Daniel Nugent-Bowman, New York Times, 26 May 2025

By Sunday, that loss seemed a distant memory, though, and for good reason. —Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 26 May 2025

Carolina didn’t seem to want much of that on this night, either. —Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 25 May 2025

But given reports of people — even with legal status — being detained and questioned at US borders, Ayala said taking a trip out of the country for fun doesn’t seem worth the potential risk. —Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 25 May 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