likeness
Americannoun
-
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
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.
"Consistent with this deliberate strategy, Plaintiff would not have agreed to license her name, image or likeness in connection with the sale of the Infringing Products."
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
Flanking the Hunt likeness, the delayed but imposing 6-foot-3-inch draped caryatids represent both “Architecture” and “Painting and Sculpture.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
“Yellowstone” and “The New World” actor Q’orianka Kilcher has taken legal action against filmmaker James Cameron, Disney and others she says used her likeness in the wildly lucrative “Avatar” film franchise without her knowledge.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Many modern art historians, such as Dr Bendor Grosvenor, accept the label on this drawing is correct and that it is a surviving contemporary likeness of her.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
The burly man whose likeness stared down at her would never be mistaken for Quinzy, at least at first glance.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
