noun
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outward appearance, esp without any inner substance or reality
-
a resemblance or copy
Etymology
Origin of semblance
1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French, equivalent to sembl ( er ) to seem ( see resemble) + -ance -ance
Explanation
Semblance is all about illusion. Cramming all of your dirty clothes into the closet gives the semblance, or false appearance, that you've done your laundry — but the stench might give you away. Semblance comes from the 14th-century French word for "resemble," and it is a noun for things that look one way on the outside but are very different on the inside. A popular combination is to say that a person or place has the "semblance of order," when, underneath, everything is out of control.
Vocabulary lists containing semblance
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Romeo and Juliet
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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.
Since then, they've been plotting how to get their comrade home so they can confirm his identity beyond doubt through DNA testing and offer his family a semblance of closure.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
When the slumming Ponce, who lives somewhere else and who picked up a semblance of education, tries to explain that all earthly agriculture is reliant on bees, he gets blowback.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The vote was widely derided by democracy monitors abroad, but China supports it as recreating a semblance of normality, analysts say.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
“It’s an agreement to return to some semblance of normalcy. We are still in a world of uncertainty. In other words, we are not sure what’s going to happen in 60 days.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
The front door was unlocked, so she walked into the large front room, like Mrs. Bedlow’s, nearly filled with two large dining tables but with the semblance of a living area on one side.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
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.
