likeness
Americannoun
-
likenesses
plural
-
a representation, picture, or image, especially a portrait.
to draw a good likeness of Churchill.
-
the state or fact of being like.
I can't get over your likeness to my friend.
- Synonyms:
- similitude, resemblance
-
the semblance or appearance of something; guise.
to assume the likeness of a swan.
noun
-
the condition of being alike; similarity
-
a painted, carved, moulded, or graphic image of a person or thing
-
an imitative appearance; semblance
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of likeness
before 950; Middle English liknesse, Old English līcnes, variant of gelīcnes. See alike, -ness
Explanation
A likeness is a portrait, or a head-turning resemblance. George Washington’s likeness appears on the dollar bill. A potato might bear an uncanny likeness to my grandfather. Likeness has nothing to do with liking someone or something––it’s all about what something looks like. It’s been in use since before the 12th century, when likenesses had to be drawn or painted, rather than snapped with a digital camera. If the only picture you had of your mom was one your brother drew, you would value it more if it was a good likeness, meaning it really looked “like” her.
Vocabulary lists containing likeness
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Stories of Ourselves
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Trash
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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:
ByteDance in response said it was taking steps to strengthen its safeguards to prevent unauthorized use of IP or likeness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
"The discoveries from the excavations, especially coins bearing Homer's likeness, show us that the inhabitants of ancient Smyrna considered the poet to be one of their own," archaeologist Mehmet Akif Erdem said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
She also used AI images based on Davies' likeness, and used the fake profiles to strike up real-life romantic relationships.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
As Thompson started mulling video cover letters, she signed a newly “Human Consent Registry” to try guarding her name, image and likeness against unauthorized AI use.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
I made it by myself and I think it is a very good likeness.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
The hospital should absolutely inform physicians if their names and likenesses are being employed in this way, and they should also be told in advance what patients will be solicited in their name.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
The move comes after hyper-realistic AI videos of dead celebrities -- created with apps such as OpenAI's easy-to-use Sora -- rapidly spread online, prompting debate over the control of deceased people's likenesses.
From Barron's ● Apr. 24, 2026
“Spud” will be of no reassurance to Disney, which inked a billion-dollar deal with OpenAI in December to allow Sora users to generate likenesses of many characters.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
Eventually, the company added controls so content owners could block the use of their likenesses or intellectual property,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
There were a few low-key rides, and a game in which players threw tennis balls at papier-mâché likenesses of Idi Amin and Richard Nixon.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
