resemble
Americanverb (used with object)
-
resembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
resembled,
past participle, past
-
resembling
present participle
-
to be like or similar to.
-
Archaic. to liken or compare.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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resemblesimple
-
resemblessimple
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have resembledperfect
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has resembledperfect
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am resemblingprogressive
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are resemblingprogressive
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is resemblingprogressive
-
have been resemblingperfect progressive
-
has been resemblingperfect progressive
Past
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resembledsimple
-
had resembledperfect
-
was resemblingprogressive
-
were resemblingprogressive
-
had been resemblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of resemble
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English resemblen, from Middle French resembler, Old French, from re- re- + sembler “to seem, be like” (from Latin similāre, derivative of similis “like”; see similar)
Explanation
Have you noticed that many pet owners resemble their pets? Or is it that pets resemble their owners? Either way, it’s downright strange how they often look alike. Derived from the old French word sembler, “to appear,” the verb resemble can imply a whole spectrum of likeness. For example, you might closely resemble your schnauzer or, hopefully, only vaguely resemble each other. It’s not just about appearance, either. This concept can include all kinds of characteristics. Two companies can resemble each other and the same could be said of two philosophies.
Vocabulary lists containing resemble
List 2
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"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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Holes
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Occasionally, the blunt-headed whale seems to resemble Brolin himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
But Unsworth, who leads foraging trips across Lancashire, warned people not to eat wild mushrooms unless they were certain they had identified them correctly, as some poisonous species can closely resemble edible varieties.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
"We wanted to understand how African lions in human care respond when feeding routines more closely resemble those natural patterns."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
The shoes are known for their clean design, lightweight feel and unmistakable soles, including some with those hollow pods that resemble a toothy smile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
In its original life, the Grand Dame had been built to resemble a palace straight from Andalusian Spain, a temple to theater.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
In its latest software update for iPhones, Apple released an updated Siri that more closely resembles a modern chatbot like ChatGPT.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Meghnad S., a 36-year-old content creator, is on a mission that resembles a crowd-sourced rescue service.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Trapped in this stiffer, earlier incarnation, the only acting Strong is able to do is poke his head straight up from his shoulders until he resembles a retractable pen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
His every motive feels ulterior, and his inevitable simmering romance with Lowen resembles a can of worms that could pop open at any moment.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
The tragedy of the Moriori resembles many other such tragedies in both the modern and the ancient world, pitting numerous well-equipped people against few ill-equipped opponents.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
On the surface, it seems like harmless video game humor, and I’m sure we’ve all had encounters with actual humans that resembled interacting with tautological machines programmed with limited responses.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
The anonymous account, whose picture resembled a "Jujutsu Kaisen" character dubbed by Tsuda, combined images and seemingly AI-generated speech about urban legends, occult phenomena and conspiracy theories.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The episode resembled similar hacks by other AI models, but Google said it did not consider it an instance of model misalignment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
That combination supports the possibility that ancient nitrogenases more closely resembled this archaeal enzyme than the nitrogenases found in bacteria today.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
That platform sat high above the waves on the station’s base, which resembled a massive barrel floating upright in the water.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
Huang's "defence of CoreWeave's financial position was enough to pull the NeoCloud complex off the floor, drag AI equities higher and give the broader market something resembling a pulse", wrote SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Isamu Noguchi created a baby monitor before baby monitors were a thing: the Radio Nurse, a dark Bakelite receiver resembling an abstract face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Deep in a bunker, a device resembling an alarm clock sits on the desk of Maj.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
There, they discovered organized immune structures resembling those normally found in lymph nodes.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Mother had come to Australia on short notice after receiving word that a woman resembling his wife had been photographed at Sydney Airport.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
