seem

verb

ˈsēm 

seemed; seeming; seems

intransitive verb

1

: to appear to the observation or understanding

2

: to give the impression of being

Synonyms

• 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

The sky turned hazy, health officials urged residents to stay inside, and what once seemed like gradual progress toward cleaner air suddenly felt alarmingly fragile. —Youssef Rafik, Hartford Courant, 12 July 2025

While creating media for virtual and mixed reality may seem like a departure from developing content for 2-D screens, Seiden says the secret to success is a tactic media companies are already familiar with: exclusivity. —Liam Reilly, CNN Money, 12 July 2025

For a Mets franchise that's been down on their luck for what seems like forever now, this may be their Curse of the Bambino moment. —Mike Gunzelman Outkick, FOXNews.com, 12 July 2025

Some noticed minor banding with select HDR10 video, but updates seem to have mostly fixed it, making this the 2025 TV to beat. —Simon Hill, Wired News, 12 July 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