seemingly

British  

/ ˈsiːmɪŋlɪ /

adverb

1. in appearance but not necessarily in actuality

   with seemingly effortless ease

2. (sentence modifier) apparently; as far as one knows

   seemingly, he had few friends left

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Explanation

Something seemingly true appears to be true. Use the adverb seemingly when you want to say "on the face of it" or "apparently." The word seemingly refers to how things look on the surface — how they seem — and it often suggests there's more to the story. A seemingly broken ankle might actually be sprained, and a seemingly rich man might actually be deeply in debt. While your dog is seemingly well-behaved, he may be eating the garbage when you're not home. Seemingly means about the same as apparently, ostensibly, or surely.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seemingly

Having seemingly hit the bottom, the 2009 French champions now at least have something to build on after being bought by US investment fund Park Bench for one euro.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The seemingly simple task of sorting merchandise is among the many challenges bedeviling the company’s decadelong, multibillion-dollar quest to automate its warehouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The poster and key image from the film is a smiling snapshot of Mihai and Lisbet with their children, a seemingly happy family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Although many fathers in the study died from preventable causes, researchers also uncovered a seemingly contradictory finding.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026

He spent the next hour demonstrating basic skills like palming a playing card or performing the French Drop, a maneuver in which a small object seemingly disappears when passing from one hand to the other.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti