Synonyms

beseem

American

[bih-seem] / bɪˈsim /

verb (used with object)

to be fit for or worthy of; become.

conduct that beseems a gentleman.

verb (used without object)

to be suitable or fitting.

beseem British

/ bɪˈsiːm /

verb

archaic to be suitable for; befit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

unbeseeming adjective

Etymology

Origin of beseem

First recorded in 1175–1225, beseem is from the Middle English word bisemen. See be-, seem

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.

And upon what takes place when they enter into their chamber and shut the door and face their sorrow alone with God, it does not beseem us to intrude.

From Project Gutenberg

I … did company these three in poor beseeming.

From Project Gutenberg

To find and be able to express these principles well beseems an intelligent and civilised nation.

From Project Gutenberg

Five minutes later, Dr. Bethel and 'Squire Brookhouse were going up the hill toward the house of the latter, while I, still smoking, sauntered in the opposite direction, lazily, as beseemed an idle man.

From Project Gutenberg

The former, in the spring of life, as beseemed the season, enlivened her heart with a genial warmth; the latter wished that it should always be as cold and frosty as an ice-house.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023