semblance

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English semblaunce (“outward appearance, form; appearance without reality; condition or fact of being apparent; symbolic image; facial expression, countenance; conduct, manner; image, likeness; analogy, comparison”), from Anglo-Norman semblaunce and Old French semblance (modern French semblance), from semblant, the present participle of sembler (“to appear; to resemble, seem”), from Late Latin similāre, the present active infinitive of similō, a variant of Latin simulō (“to act or behave as if; to imitate, simulate”), from similis (“like resembling, similar to”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; together”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). By surface analysis, semble +‎ -ance (suffix forming nouns denoting conditions or states). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ˈsɛmblən(t)s/ Rhymes: -ɛmbləns Hyphenation: sem‧blance === Noun === semblance (countable and uncountable, plural semblances) (countable) The outward appearance or form of a person or thing. Synonym: veneer Followed by of: the outward appearance of a person or thing when regarded as similar to that of another person or thing. Followed by of: the outward appearance of a person or thing which is different from what the person or thing actually is; also, an outward appearance of a thing which does not actually exist. (countable) Followed by of: a person or thing that is seen; an apparition, a vision. (countable) Followed by of: a person or thing that looks similar to another person or thing; a likeness. Synonym: portrait (countable, always in the negative) Followed by of: a bare or mere appearance of something. (countable) A person's non-verbal behaviour or demeanour which shows their feelings, thoughts, etc., or which is faked to hide such true feelings, thoughts, etc. (countable, dated) In the form make semblance: an act of appearing; an appearance, a manifestation; also, a false appearance, a pretence. (uncountable, archaic) The quality or state of being similar; likeness, resemblance, similarity. (uncountable, obsolete) The chance of something happening; likelihood, probability. ==== Alternative forms ==== semblaunce (obsolete) ==== Related terms ==== resemblance semblant (archaic or obsolete) semble (obsolete) ==== Collocations ==== ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === semblance (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “semblance”, in The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. “semblance”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “semblance”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.