deem

American  

[deem] / dim /

verb (used without object)

• deems,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deemed,
  past participle,  past
• deeming
  present participle

1. to form or have an opinion; judge; think.

   He did not deem lightly of the issue.

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verb (used with object)

• deems,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deemed,
  past participle,  past
• deeming
  present participle

1. to hold as an opinion; think; regard as.

   He deemed it wise to refuse the offer.

   Synonyms:

   believe, hold, consider

deem British  

/ diːm /

verb

1. (tr) to judge or consider

   I do not deem him worthy of this honour

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deeming
  present
• deemed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deem
  simple
• deems
  simple
• have deemed
  perfect
• has deemed
  perfect
• am deeming
  progressive
• are deeming
  progressive
• is deeming
  progressive
• have been deeming
  perfect progressive
• has been deeming
  perfect progressive

Past

• deemed
  simple
• had deemed
  perfect
• was deeming
  progressive
• were deeming
  progressive
• had been deeming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deem
  simple
• will have deemed
  perfect
• will be deeming
  progressive
• will have been deeming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deem

First recorded before 900; Middle English demen, Old English dēman; cognate with Gothic dōmjan, Old High German tuomen; see doom

Explanation

To deem is a verb that means to view as or judge. Your parents or boss may deem something necessary that you don't, like coming home by midnight or working late. Deem comes from the Old English word, deman — meaning "act as a judge." If you deem something, you essentially become the judge of whether it has a characteristic. For example, if you deem your little sister's jokes to be too ridiculous to listen to, you will probably just walk away.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deem deems deemed deeming

To deem a film whose worst mistake is some inherent goofiness as “insidious” defeats the entire point.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026

"The family are very interested to know what evidence was provided or what evidence wasn't provided by the prison service in order for the court to deem it not substantial," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Yet scholars deem Baldwin to have displayed many admirable leadership qualities—magnanimity, political astuteness, trustworthiness—and he was successful by his own lights, having passed reforms in housing and pensions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

But some experts say they could also be a statement on which pockets of the AI hardware sector investors deem resilient.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

“Just because maybe these women have stayed here in Clover City or have become stay-at-home moms or cashiers doesn’t mean you can deem their entire lives outside of the pageant a waste.”

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Organized around what Ferrari deems a “dual-cockpit layout,” the swank, future-curious cabin design imagines driver and passenger bonding over the 10.25-inch central touch-screen display.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

“In light of evolving societal norms, the Commissioner deems there is insufficient justification for the continued use of marital status in automobile insurance rating,” the filing stated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

"This is a message that Pyongyang is closely watching the upcoming drills and could stage a provocation if it deems one necessary."

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Singapore has strict rules on public speech and what it deems as demonstrations, arguing that it is necessary to regulate them to protect social harmony.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

I also give my consent for my children and my children's children, etc., to continue in this experiment until such time as the Bureau of Genetic Welfare deems it to be complete.

From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth

They said he would be protected for the duration of his trip because he was deemed vulnerable to an attack.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

It is quite another to put on trial those deemed responsible.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026

Boehler’s office, and the White House, may get involved regardless of whether the person has been deemed “wrongfully detained,” an official designation that didn’t apply to Castillo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Duckett, in contrast, averages 23.4 on surfaces deemed as 'high bouncing' since the start of 2023.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

“The trustees have deemed the application of the poultice an unnecessary expense, although I am quite sure they themselves would not enjoy being bitten by fleas.”

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California said in her decision that the government had illegally retaliated against Anthropic, deeming it a supply-chain risk “for constitutionally protected expressive activities.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 28, 2026

Commerzbank CEO Bettina Orlopp has called for the opening of talks with UniCredit regarding the German bank's future, deeming a "constructive dialogue" necessary after the Italian group secured nearly half of the voting rights.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

The three judges also found that the original judge had erred by not deeming Tickle's removal from the app based on Grover's "first visual review" of the profile picture as direct discrimination.

From BBC ● May 15, 2026

Raman and Pratt are right in deeming Bass the old guard of a beat-up city — but the old guard didn’t get there without knowing how to win.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Mainly because as each of us gets better and wiser in our particular areas of expertise, we have to toss everything and start over, deeming the old material to be childish and unprofessional.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• allow
• assume
• believe
• expect
• feel
• presume
• suppose
• suspect