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semblance

 - 3 dictionary results

sem⋅blance

  [sem-bluhns]
Use semblance in a Sentence
–noun
1. outward aspect or appearance.
2. an assumed or unreal appearance; show.
3. the slightest appearance or trace.
4. a likeness, image, or copy.
5. a spectral appearance; apparition.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < MF, equiv. to sembl(er) to seem (see resemble ) + -ance -ance

Synonyms:
1. aspect, exterior, mien, air. 2. seeming.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To semblance
sem·blance   (sěm'bləns)   
n.  

  1. An outward or token appearance: "Foolish men mistake transitory semblance for eternal fact" (Thomas Carlyle).

  2. A representation; a copy.

  3. The barest trace; a modicum: not a semblance of truth to the story.


[Middle English, from Old French, from sembler, to resemble; see semblable.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

semblance 
c.1300, "fact of appearing to view," from O.Fr. semblance, semblant "likeness, appearance," from sembler "to seem, appear," from L. simulare "to resemble, imitate," from similis "like" (see similar). Meaning "person's appearance or demeanor" is attested from c.1400; that of "false, assumed or deceiving appearance" is from 1599. Meaning "person or thing that resembles another" is attested from 1513.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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