resemble
verb
Simple meaning
Appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rihzehmbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɹɪˈzɛmbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
“She resembles her mother very much.”
transitive
To be like or similar to (something); to represent as similar.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Appear like; be similar or bear a likeness to
Used this way, resemble is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“She resembles her mother very much.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use resemble
- “She resembles her mother very much.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Similarity in appearance or external or superficial details.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.