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

In 2020, my colleague Olga Khazan asked why no one seemed interested in creating a modern temperance movement. —Shayla Love, The Atlantic, 13 Jan. 2025

The Weeknd’s second maze at Halloween Horror Nights seems to confirm that this would be the final album under that persona. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 13 Jan. 2025

The percentage of claims that are low risk seems to be growing by the day. —Tom Cullinan, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025

The justices seemed generally unconvinced by TikTok’s main argument that banning TikTok violates the free speech rights of its millions of users in the U.S., which means the app could disappear from app stores as soon as this week. —Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 13 Jan. 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

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