resemble
Americanverb (used with object)
-
resembles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
resembled,
past participle, past
-
resembling
present participle
-
to be like or similar to.
-
Archaic. to liken or compare.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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resemblesimple
-
resemblessimple
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have resembledperfect
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has resembledperfect
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am resemblingprogressive
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are resemblingprogressive
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is resemblingprogressive
-
have been resemblingperfect progressive
-
has been resemblingperfect progressive
Past
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resembledsimple
-
had resembledperfect
-
was resemblingprogressive
-
were resemblingprogressive
-
had been resemblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of resemble
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English resemblen, from Middle French resembler, Old French, from re- re- + sembler “to seem, be like” (from Latin similāre, derivative of similis “like”; see similar)
Explanation
Have you noticed that many pet owners resemble their pets? Or is it that pets resemble their owners? Either way, it’s downright strange how they often look alike. Derived from the old French word sembler, “to appear,” the verb resemble can imply a whole spectrum of likeness. For example, you might closely resemble your schnauzer or, hopefully, only vaguely resemble each other. It’s not just about appearance, either. This concept can include all kinds of characteristics. Two companies can resemble each other and the same could be said of two philosophies.
Vocabulary lists containing resemble
List 2
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"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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Holes
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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:
The results resemble a pattern already documented in maternal mortality research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Sergio, an artist in his own right, even constructed her first booth to resemble a fruit stand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
They come in all shapes and sizes; some resemble a hockey-puck-like disc, while others look more like a rod.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
They became the model for WS Game’s Vintage Bookshelf line, with boxes that resemble books.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The northeastern shore of Honshu, often called the Sanriku Coast, zigzags in and out, forming jagged shapes that resemble the teeth of a saw.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Meghnad S., a 36-year-old content creator, is on a mission that resembles a crowd-sourced rescue service.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Trapped in this stiffer, earlier incarnation, the only acting Strong is able to do is poke his head straight up from his shoulders until he resembles a retractable pen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
His every motive feels ulterior, and his inevitable simmering romance with Lowen resembles a can of worms that could pop open at any moment.
From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2026
Fourteen-year-old Genevieve learns she can change her clothes to pass as a much more glamorous 17-year-old, while 11-year-old Fenella prefers covering herself in gray fur so she resembles a cat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
It’s actually somewhat creepy how much my avatar resembles me.
From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Perhaps states thought lethal injection would fare better in court because it resembled a familiar medical procedure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
On the surface, it seems like harmless video game humor, and I’m sure we’ve all had encounters with actual humans that resembled interacting with tautological machines programmed with limited responses.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
An anonymous account, whose picture resembled a "Jujutsu Kaisen" character dubbed by Tsuda, posted the videos in question.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
I observed to him that his language resembled the ways the American Bitcoiners talked, and asked if he felt they were right to fear a fate similar to Zimbabwe’s.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Olympian gods were hard enough to imagine as parents, but at least they resembled humans.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Isamu Noguchi created a baby monitor before baby monitors were a thing: the Radio Nurse, a dark Bakelite receiver resembling an abstract face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
AI slop has begun appearing on restaurant menus, signs and advertisements, offering food imagery that looks optimized for appetite without necessarily resembling anything a person could cook.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
Writer-director Reed Van Dyk’s feature debut navigates tricky emotional waters but emerges as a trenchant examination of what forgiveness and penitence can look like, allowing no room for anything resembling a pat happy ending.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The chronological installation begins with Evans’s first two pen-and-ink drawings from about 1935: abstract radiating eyes, spirals, zigzags and squiggles—feverish doodles resembling ancient pictographic narratives set down in a trance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Cables resembling giant metal noodles snaked across the floor and ran up the walls.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
