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Webster 1913 Edition

Seem

Seem

(sēm)
,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Seemed
(sēmd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Seeming
.]
[OE.
semen
to seem, to become, befit, AS.
sēman
to satisfy, pacify; akin to Icel.
saema
to honor, to bear with, conform to,
saemr
becoming, fit,
sōma
to beseem, to befit,
sama
to beseem,
semja
to arrange, settle, put right, Goth.
samjan
to please, and to E.
same
. The sense is probably due to the adj.
seemly
. √191. See
Same
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Seemly
.]
To appear, or to appear to be; to have a show or semblance; to present an appearance; to look; to strike one’s apprehension or fancy as being; to be taken as.
“It now seemed probable.”
Macaulay.
Thou picture of what thou
seem'st
.
Shakespeare
All
seemed
well pleased; all
seemed
, but were not all.
Milton.
There is a way which
seemeth
right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Prov. xiv. 12.
It seems
,
it appears; it is understood as true; it is said.
A prince of Italy,
it seems
, entertained his mistress on a great lake.
Addison.
Syn. – To appear; look.
–
Seem
,
Appear
. To appear has reference to a thing's being presented to our view; as, the sun appears; to seem is connected with the idea of semblance, and usually implies an inference of our mind as to the probability of a thing's being so; as, a storm seems to be coming. “The story appears to be true,” means that the facts, as presented, go to show its truth; “the story seems to be true,” means that it has the semblance of being so, and we infer that it is true. “His first and principal care being to appear unto his people such as he would have them be, and to be such as he appeared.”
Sir P. Sidney.
Ham. Ay, madam, it is common.
Queen. If it be,
Why
seems
it so particular with thee?
Ham.
Seems
, madam! Nay, it is; I know not “
seems
.”
Shakespeare

Seem

,
Verb.
T.
To befit; to beseem.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Seem

SEEM

,
Verb.
i.
1. To appear; to make or have a show or semblance.
Thou art not what thou seems't. Shak.
All seem'd well pleased; all seem'd, but were not all. Milton.
2. To have the appearance of truth or fact; to be understood as true. It seems that the Turkish power is on the decline.
A prince of Italy, it seems, entertained his mistress on a great lake. Addison.

SEEM

,
Verb.
T.
To become; to befit. Obs.

Definition 2024

Seem

Seem

See also: seem

Finnish

Proper noun

Seem

  1. (biblical) Shem
  2. A male given name of biblical origin; rarely used.

Declension

Inflection of Seem (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative Seem Seemit
genitive Seemin Seemien
partitive Seemiä Seemejä
illative Seemiin Seemeihin
singular plural
nominative Seem Seemit
accusative nom. Seem Seemit
gen. Seemin
genitive Seemin Seemien
partitive Seemiä Seemejä
inessive Seemissä Seemeissä
elative Seemistä Seemeistä
illative Seemiin Seemeihin
adessive Seemillä Seemeillä
ablative Seemiltä Seemeiltä
allative Seemille Seemeille
essive Seeminä Seemeinä
translative Seemiksi Seemeiksi
instructive — Seemein
abessive Seemittä Seemeittä
comitative — Seemeineen

Related terms

Luxembourgish

Noun

Seem

  1. plural of Sam

seem

seem

See also: Seem

English

Verb

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  1. (copulative) To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.
    He seems to be ill.   Her eyes seem blue.‎
    • 1460-1500, The Towneley Playsː
      He is so fair, without lease, he seems full well to sit on this.
    • 1813 (14thc.), Dante Alighieri, The Vision of **** as translated by The Rev. H. F. Cary.
      He, from his face removing the gross air, / Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and seem'd alone / By that annoyance wearied.
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too. […].
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess:
      Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
    • 2012 August 5, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993)”, in (Please provide the title of the work):
      So while Ralph generally seems to inhabit a different, more glorious and joyful universe than everyone else here his yearning and heartbreak are eminently relateable. Ralph sometimes appears to be a magically demented sprite who has assumed the form of a boy, but he’s never been more poignantly, nakedly, movingly human than he is here.
  2. (obsolete) To befit; to beseem.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

Usage notes

  • This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: character · taking · information · #467: seem · book · story · deep

Anagrams

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /seːm/
  • Hyphenation: Seem

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