semblance

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛmblən(t)s/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading
  2. noun an erroneous mental representation
  3. noun picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing

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).

In classic literature

Synonyms

gloss, color, colour

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
appearance
Narrower (hyponyms)
guise, simulacrum, face value, disguise, color of law, verisimilitude

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