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:
Awakened, Alma joins Elisabet as they probe their faces in a mirror—a study in likeness and difference that lingers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
She calls these artifacts “workmanships,” a word embracing “work” and “man”: art contains our image and likeness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Former Heisman-winning QB Jayden Daniels issues cease-and-desist letter to LSU prohibiting the school from using his name, image and likeness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
But there’s one race that’s standing out, much as the likeness of an old man’s face once did on Cannon Mountain.
From Slate ● Sep. 19, 2026
I kept darting surreptitious glances at him while also looking straight ahead, as if I had no business gazing directly at this perfect likeness of an Indo-Greek god, high school edition.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
“Who are these sitters whose likenesses and presence we feel something for? It’s time we know more.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
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
Some performers have also advocated for getting paid if their likenesses are used to create such characters made through AI systems.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The homophonic novels share other likenesses: Both center on estranged sisters, both are set against a backdrop of political unrest and both feature the unlikely appearance of a horse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
In the age of photography, we have come to see portraits as mere likenesses and we readily forget that they call on all our skill to grasp their meaning.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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.
