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resemblance

[ri-zem-bluh ns]
See more synonyms for resemblance on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or fact of resembling; similarity.
  2. a degree, kind, or point of likeness.
  3. a likeness, appearance, or semblance of something.
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Origin of resemblance

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, equivalent to resembl(er) to resemble + -ance -ance
Related formsnon·re·sem·blance, nounpre·re·sem·blance, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for resemblance on Thesaurus.com
1. Resemblance, similarity imply that there is a likeness between two or more people or things. Resemblance indicates primarily a likeness in appearance, either a striking one or one which merely serves as a reminder to the beholder: The boy has a strong resemblance to his father. Similarity may imply a surface likeness, but usually suggests also a likeness in other characteristics: There is a similarity in their tastes and behavior. 2. analogy, similitude. 3. image.

Antonyms

1. difference.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for resemblance

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • There was, indeed, a resemblance in their size and persons, which favoured the delusion.

  • Mr. Rockefeller did not discover the hog, but it is considered his by right of resemblance.

  • Our polite recognition of another's resemblance to ourselves.

  • He was studying the resemblance between Arabic and English words.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • There were many points of resemblance between Altamont and Hatteras, but no affinities.

    The Field of Ice

    Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for resemblance

resemblance

noun
  1. the state or quality of resembling; likeness or similarity in nature, appearance, etc
  2. the degree or extent to which or the respect in which a likeness exists
  3. something resembling something else; semblance; likeness
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Derived Formsresemblant, adjective
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

Word Origin and History for resemblance

n.

late 14c., from Anglo-French resemblance (c.1300), from Old French resembler (see resemble) + -ance.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper