[syn: appear, seem]
3. appear to exist;
- Example: "There seems no reason to go ahead with the project now"
4. appear to one's own mind or opinion;
- Example: "I seem to be misunderstood by everyone"
- Example: "I can't seem to learn these Chinese characters"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Seem \Seem\ (s[=e]m), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Seemed (s[=e]md); p.
pr. & vb. n. Seeming.] [OE. semen to seem, to become,
befit, AS. s[=e]man to satisfy, pacify; akin to Icel. saema
to honor, to bear with, conform to, saemr becoming, fit,
s[=o]ma 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.
[root]191. See Same, a., 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.
[1913 Webster]
Thou picture of what thou seem'st. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
All seemed well pleased; all seemed, but were not all.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the
end thereof are the ways of death. --Prov. xiv.
12.
[1913 Webster]
It seems, it appears; it is understood as true; it is said.
[1913 Webster]
A prince of Italy, it seems, entertained his
mistress on a great lake. --Addison.
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Syn: To appear; look.
Usage: 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.
[1913 Webster]
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." --Shak.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Seem \Seem\, v. t.
To befit; to beseem. [Obs.] --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
seem
v 1: give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect;
"She seems to be sleeping"; "This appears to be a very
difficult problem"; "This project looks fishy"; "They
appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a long
time" [syn: look, appear, seem]
2: seem to be true, probable, or apparent; "It seems that he is
very gifted"; "It appears that the weather in California is
very bad" [syn: appear, seem]
3: appear to exist; "There seems no reason to go ahead with the
project now"
4: appear to one's own mind or opinion; "I seem to be
misunderstood by everyone"; "I can't seem to learn these
Chinese characters"
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
48 Moby Thesaurus words for "seem":
ape, appear, appear like, approach, approximate, be like,
be redolent of, bear resemblance, bring to mind, call to mind,
call up, come close, come near, compare with, copy, correspond,
counterfeit, evoke, favor, feel, follow, hint, imitate, imply,
insinuate, intimate, look, look like, match, mimic, mirror, near,
nearly reproduce, not tell apart, parallel, partake of,
remind one of, resemble, savor of, seem like, seem to be, simulate,
smack of, sound, sound like, stack up with, suggest, take after