Meanings
present singular third person resembles · participle present resembling · participle past resembled · past resembled
- transitiveTo be like or similar to (something); to represent as similar.
The twins resemble each other.
3 more examples
He turned back to the scene before him and the enormous new block of council dwellings. The design was some way after Corbusier but the block was built up on plinths and resembled an Atlantic liner swimming diagonally across the site.
1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLCBut what you've just described does resemble a person of that kind.
2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 230bUsing modeling simulations, they determined the most likely scenario was that the object is powered by a central black hole surrounded by a cocoon of gas that makes it resemble a star.
2026 August 12, “Newly discovered "black hole star" could solve mystery of strange red dots spotted in the early universe”, in CBS News, archived from the original on 12 Aug 2026 - archaictransitiveTo compare; to regard as similar, to liken.
And th'other all yclad in garments light, / Discolour'd like to womanish disguise, / He did resemble to his Ladie bright [...].
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC - obsoletetransitiveTo counterfeit; to imitate.
They can so well resemble mans speech.
1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC - obsoletetransitiveTo cause to imitate or be like; to make similar.
they resemble themselves to the swans
1881, Horace Bushnell, Building Eras in Religion1 more example
And ſince we all haue ſuckt one wholſome aire, And with the ſame proportion of Elements, Reſolue, I hope we are reſembled, Uowing our loues to equall death and life, […]
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene vi
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Anglo-Normanresembler
- Middle Englishresemblen
- Englishresemble
From Middle English resemblen, from Anglo-Norman resembler, ressembler, from re- + sembler (“to seem”). By surface analysis, re- + semble.
More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic شَبِهَ, مَاثَلَ
- شَبِهَ (šabiha)to be like or similar to something else
- مَاثَلَ (māṯala)to be like or similar to something else
Bulgarian приличам
- приличам (priličam)to be like or similar to something else
Catalan semblar
- semblarto be like or similar to something else
Chinese Mandarin 相似
- 相似 (xiāngsì)to be like or similar to something else
Czech připomínat, podobat se
- připomínatto be like or similar to something else
- podobat seto be like or similar to something else
Danish ligne, minde om
- ligneto be like or similar to something else
- minde omto be like or similar to something else
Dutch gelijken op, lijken op
- gelijken opto be like or similar to something else
- lijken opto be like or similar to something else
Esperanto simili
- similito be like or similar to something else
Finnish muistuttaa
- muistuttaato be like or similar to something else
French ressembler à
- ressembler àto be like or similar to something else
German ähneln, gleichen
- ähnelnto be like or similar to something else
- gleichento be like or similar to something else
Greek μοιάζω
- μοιάζω (moiázo)to be like or similar to something else
Hungarian hasonlít
- hasonlítto be like or similar to something else
Icelandic líkjast
- líkjastto be like or similar to something else
Irish is cosúil le
- is cosúil leto be like or similar to something else
Italian rassomigliare, somigliare
- rassomigliareto be like or similar to something else
- somigliareto be like or similar to something else
- assomigliareto be like or similar to something else
- arieggiareto be like or similar to something else
Japanese 似ている
- 似ている (nite iru)to be like or similar to something else
Korean 비슷하다, 닮다
- 비슷하다 (biseuthada)to be like or similar to something else
- 닮다 (damda)to be like or similar to something else
- 같다 (gatda)to be like or similar to something else
Latin similō
- similōto be like or similar to something else
Malay sebiji, sebijik
- sebijito be like or similar to something else
- sebijikto be like or similar to something else
- serupato be like or similar to something else
- menyerupaito be like or similar to something else
- macamto be like or similar to something else
Māori āhuahua, kāhukahuka
- āhuahuato be like or similar to something else
- kāhukahukato be like or similar to something else
- āhukahukato be like or similar to something else
Norwegian likne, minne om
- likneto be like or similar to something else
- minne omto be like or similar to something else
Persian مانستن, شباهت داشتن
- مانستن (mânestan)to be like or similar to something else
- شباهت داشتن (šabâhat dâštan)to be like or similar to something else
Polish być podobnym, przypominać
- być podobnymto be like or similar to something else
- przypominaćto be like or similar to something else
- przypomniećto be like or similar to something else
Portuguese assemelhar-se a, semelhar
- assemelhar-se ato be like or similar to something else
- semelharto be like or similar to something else
Romanian semăna
- semănato be like or similar to something else
Russian походи́ть, напомина́ть
- походи́ть (poxodítʹ)to be like or similar to something else
- напомина́ть (napominátʹ)to be like or similar to something else
- быть похо́жим (bytʹ poxóžim)to be like or similar to something else
- име́ть схо́дство (imétʹ sxódstvo)to be like or similar to something else
Slovak podobať sa
- podobať sato be like or similar to something else
Spanish resemblar(se) a, semblar
- resemblar(se) ato be like or similar to something else
- semblarto be like or similar to something else
Swedish likna
- liknato be like or similar to something else
Turkish benzemek, okşamak
- benzemekto be like or similar to something else
- okşamakto be like or similar to something else
Ukrainian бу́ти поді́бним, бу́ти схо́жим
- бу́ти поді́бним (búty podíbnym)to be like or similar to something else
- бу́ти схо́жим (búty sxóžym)to be like or similar to something else
Cite this entry
resemble. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resemble
“resemble.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resemble. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “resemble,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resemble.
Source: resemble on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.