Resemble

How to spell resemble

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce resemble

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does resemble mean?

1. verbTo look like or have qualities similar to another person or thing.

Resemble in a sentence

• The twins resemble each other so closely that colleagues confuse them.

• The cheap fabric was made to resemble genuine leather.

Where does resemble come from?

Language of origin: French

This verb came into English in the late 1300s from the Old French resembler, meaning 'to be like' or 'to look alike'. That French word was built from the intensive prefix re- and the verb sembler, 'to seem' or 'to appear', which descended from the Latin similare, 'to make similar', itself rooted in similis, the plain Latin adjective for 'like' or 'similar'. The same similis root still sits inside everyday English words such as 'similar', 'simile', and 'assemble', so it pays to remember that the spelling trap here is the -semble ending borrowed from French rather than a tidier *-simble. Over the centuries the sense narrowed from the broad 'to seem like' toward the modern meaning of having a likeness in appearance or character. The silent comparison with 'assemble' is a useful memory hook, since both share the French sembler and end the same way.

How the word is built

• re- (intensive)
• semble (from Latin similis: like, similar)
• verb sense