seemly
Americanadjective
-
fitting or becoming with respect to propriety or good taste; decent; decorous.
Your outburst of rage was hardly seemly.
- Synonyms:
- meet, appropriate, proper, right
-
suitable or appropriate; fitting.
a seemly gesture.
- Synonyms:
- meet, appropriate, proper, right
-
of pleasing appearance; handsome.
adverb
adjective
-
proper or fitting
-
obsolete pleasing or handsome in appearance
adverb
Other Word Forms
- seemliness noun
Etymology
Origin of seemly
1175–1225; Middle English semely < Old Norse sæmiligr honorable; derivative of sœmr ( seem )
Explanation
You don't want to seem anything less than seemly, especially in the presence of the Queen. Only seemly behavior is allowed when she's around. Seemly behavior is polite, decent, upright, and appropriate. You'll need to get schooled in the ways of more seemly people before you can be allowed in the fanciest restaurant in town. At the moment, your ratty clothes, smelly feet, and bad manners can only be described as "unseemly" — which is, of course, the opposite of seemly. One way to remember the meaning of seemly is to think of how you'd like to "seem" to others. Chances are the answer is something like seemly. Unless you enjoy seeming like a big mess.
Vocabulary lists containing seemly
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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.
In court papers, state prison officials indicated their prospects for buying the drugs started to change as soon as it seemly likely lawmakers would pass the shield law.
From Seattle Times • May 4, 2023
It was all very public, and not very seemly.
From New York Times • Dec. 31, 2021
Richard Hofstadter rooted mid-20th century conspiracism in the feeling of being dispossessed, a feeling seemly confirmed by the outcome of public decisions upon which the "paranoid" could exert little to no influence.
From Salon • Nov. 21, 2021
She adds in the series that she “didn’t feel it was seemly to get into a public fight with him.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2021
Not all of them shared her uncle’s opinions of seemly garb; some were as fashionably dressed as Kit herself.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
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.
