seeming

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈsimɪŋ/ UK /ˈsiːmɪŋ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
appearing to be true but perhaps not so; apparent

His seeming calm hid a deep and gnawing anxiety.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · appearing to be true but... apparent ostensible outward surface superficial supposed

Opposites

actual real genuine

Word family

Derived forms seemingly

Related forms seem seemly beseem

Etymology

Present participle of 'seem', from Middle English 'semen', from Old Norse 'sœma' ('to conform to, befit'), from 'sœmr' ('fitting').

sœma Old Norse

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# seeming

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈsimɪŋ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈsiːmɪŋ/

## Meanings
1. appearing to be true but perhaps not so; apparent

## Examples
- His seeming calm hid a deep and gnawing anxiety.

## Synonyms
- apparent
- ostensible
- outward
- surface
- superficial
- supposed

## Antonyms
- actual
- real
- genuine

## Derived Forms
- seemingly

## Related Forms
- seem
- seemly
- beseem

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sœma

## Etymology
Present participle of 'seem', from Middle English 'semen', from Old Norse 'sœma' ('to conform to, befit'), from 'sœmr' ('fitting').

## AI Etymology
Seeming is the present participle of 'seem', from Middle English 'semen', from Old Norse 'sœma' ('to conform to, befit'), from 'sœmr' ('fitting'). The historical chain includes Old Norse sœma. Older glosses in the chain include "seem", "semen", "sœma", and "to conform to, befit", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, seeming is best read as borrowing, yielding an English adjective and noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a adjective and noun, with the sense "appearing to be true but perhaps not so; apparent". English derivatives include seemingly; related forms include seem, seemly, and beseem. The result is an English adjective and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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