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seemly

[seem-lee]
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adjective, seem·li·er, seem·li·est.

fitting or becoming with respect to propriety or good taste; decent; decorous: Your outburst of rage was hardly seemly.
suitable or appropriate; fitting: a seemly gesture.
of pleasing appearance; handsome.

adverb

in a seemly manner; fittingly; becomingly.

RELATED WORDS

becoming, befitting, compatible, conforming, congenial, congruous, consistent, consonant, correct, decent, decorous, fit, fitting, meet, nice, pleasing, proper, suited, timely

Nearby words

  1. seely,
  2. seem,
  3. seemer,
  4. seeming,
  5. seemingly,
  6. seen,
  7. seen better days, have,
  8. seen one, seen them all,
  9. seep,
  10. seepage

Origin of seemly

1175–1225; Middle English semely < Old Norse sæmiligr honorable; derivative of sœmr (see seem)
Related formsseem·li·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for seemly

British Dictionary definitions for seemly

seemly

adjective -lier or -liest

proper or fitting
obsolete pleasing or handsome in appearance

adverb

archaic properly or decorously
Derived Formsseemliness, noun

Word Origin for seemly

C13: from Old Norse sœomiligr, from sœmr befitting
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 seemly

seemly

adj.

"of pleasing or good appearance," also "proper, tasteful, decorous," early 13c., semlich, from Old Norse soemiligr "becoming, honorable," from soemr (see seem). Related: Seemliness. Cf. Old Norse soemleitr "fine to look at."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper