seem (redirected from couldn't seem)

seem  (sm)

intr.v. seemed, seem·ing, seems

1. To give the impression of being; appear: The child seems healthy, but the doctor is concerned.

2. To appear to one's own opinion or mind: I can't seem to get the story straight.

3. To appear to be true, probable, or evident: It seems you object to the plan. It seems like rain. He seems to have worked in sales for several years.

4. To appear to exist: There seems no reason to postpone it.

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[Middle English semen, from Old Norse sma, to conform to, from smr, fitting; see sem-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: seem, appear, look
These verbs mean to present the appearance of being: seems angry; appears skeptical; looks happy.

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seem [siːm]

vb (may take an infinitive)

1. (copula) to appear to the mind or eye; look this seems nice the car seems to be running well

2. to give the impression of existing; appear to be there seems no need for all this nonsense

3. used to diminish the force of a following infinitive to be polite, more noncommittal, etc. I can't seem to get through to you

[perhaps from Old Norse soma to beseem, from sœmr befitting; related to Old English sēman to reconcile; see same]

seemer  n

Usage: See at like¹

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	seem - give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect; "She seems to be sleeping"; "This appears to be a very difficult problem"; "This project looks fishy"; "They appeared like people who had not eaten or slept for a long time" appear, look make - appear to begin an activity; "He made to speak but said nothing in the end"; "She made as if to say hello to us" cut - give the appearance or impression of; "cut a nice figure" feel - produce a certain impression; "It feels nice to be home again" pass off - be accepted as something or somebody in a false character or identity; "She passed off as a Russian agent" sound - appear in a certain way; "This sounds interesting" come across - be perceived in a certain way; make a certain impression glow, radiate, beam, shine - have a complexion with a strong bright color, such as red or pink; "Her face glowed when she came out of the sauna" gleam, glint, glisten, glitter, shine - be shiny, as if wet; "His eyes were glistening" be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer" jump out, leap out, stand out, stick out, jump - be highly noticeable rear, rise, lift - rise up; "The building rose before them" loom - come into view indistinctly, often threateningly; "Another air plane loomed into the sky" feel - be felt or perceived in a certain way; "The ground feels shaky"; "The sheets feel soft"
	2.	seem - seem to be true, probable, or apparent; "It seems that he is very gifted"; "It appears that the weather in California is very bad" appear seem - appear to one's own mind or opinion; "I seem to be misunderstood by everyone"; "I can't seem to learn these Chinese characters" be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
	3.	seem - appear to exist; "There seems no reason to go ahead with the project now" be - have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a good answer"
	4.	seem - appear to one's own mind or opinion; "I seem to be misunderstood by everyone"; "I can't seem to learn these Chinese characters" seem, appear - seem to be true, probable, or apparent; "It seems that he is very gifted"; "It appears that the weather in California is very bad"

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seem

verb appear, give the impression of being, look, sound, look to be, show signs of being, sound as if you are, look as if you are, come across as being, look like you are, strike you as being, have the or every appearance of being Everyone seems busy except us.

Translations

seem [ˈsiːm] vi

(= give impression) → sembler, avoir l'air
She seems tired → Elle semble fatiguée., Elle a l'air fatigué.
The shop seemed to be closed → Le magasin semblait fermé., Le magasin avait l'air d'être fermé.
He seemed nice enough → Il semblait assez gentil., Il avait l'air assez gentil.
to seem to be ...
You seem to be very interested → Vous semblez très intéressé., Vous avez l'air très intéressé.
to seem like ...
That seems like a good idea → Cela semble une bonne idée.

(impersonal use) → sembler
it seems (that) ... (= it looks like) → il semble que ...
It seems that they want to leave.; It seems they want to leave → Il semble qu'ils veuillent partir. (= people say) → il paraît que ...
It seems she's getting married.; It seems that she's getting married → Il paraît qu'elle va se marier.
it seems as if ...
It seemed as if she'd been gone forever → On aurait dit qu'elle était partie depuis une éternité.
it seems to me that ... → il me semble que ...
there seems to be ... → il semble qu'il y ait ..., on dirait qu'il y a ...
There seems to be a problem → On dirait qu'il y a un problème.
There don't seem to be many people on campus today → Il semble qu'il n'y ait pas grand monde sur le campus aujourd'hui., On dirait qu'il n'y a pas grand monde sur le campus aujourd'hui.
what seems to be the trouble? → qu'est-ce qui ne va pas?

(to describe one's own feelings or thoughts)
I seem to have lost all my self-confidence → Il semble que j'ai perdu toute ma confiance en moi.
I can't seem to do anything right → Je n'arrive pas à faire quoi que ce soit de bien.
I just couldn't seem to help myself → Je n'arrivais vraiment pas à m'en empêcher.

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seem

vi

(= appear) → scheinen; he seems (to be) honest/a nice young man → er scheint ehrlich/ein netter junger Mann zu sein; he seemed nice enough → er schien ganz nett (zu sein); he may seem poor but … → er mag arm scheinen or wirken, aber …; he seems younger than he is → er wirkt jünger, als er ist; that makes it seem longer → dadurch wirkt es länger or kommt es einem länger vor; he doesn’t seem (to be) able to concentrate → er scheint sich nicht konzentrieren zu können; he is not what he seems (to be) → er ist nicht (das), was er zu sein scheint; things aren’t always what they seem → vieles ist anders, als es aussieht; I seem to have heard that before → das habe ich doch schon mal gehört; what seems to be the trouble? → worum geht es denn?; (doctor) → was kann ich für Sie tun?; there seems to be no solution → da scheint es keine Lösung zu geben; it seems to me that I’ll have to do that again → mir scheint, ich muss das noch einmal machen; he has left, it seems → er ist anscheinend weggegangen, es scheint, er ist weggegangen; we are not welcome, it seems → wir sind anscheinend or scheinbar nicht willkommen; so it seems → es sieht (ganz) so aus; he is, so it seems, … → er scheint … zu sein; it seems or would seem that he is coming after all → es sieht so aus, als ob er doch noch kommt, es scheint, er kommt doch noch; it doesn’t seem that he’ll be coming → es sieht nicht so aus, als ob er kommt; if it seems right to you → wenn Sie es für richtig halten; it seems or would seem (to be) advisable → das scheint ratsam (zu sein); how does it seem to you? → was meinen SIE?; how did she seem to you? → wie fandst du sie?; it seems a shame to leave it unfinished → es ist doch irgendwie or eigentlich schade, das nicht fertig zu machen; it just doesn’t seem right somehow → das ist doch irgendwie nicht richtig; it would seem that … → es scheint fast so, als ob …; I can’t seem to do it → ich kann das anscheinend or scheinbar or irgendwie nicht

it only seems like it → das kommt einem nur so vor; I seem to be floating in space → es kommt mir so vor, als ob ich schweben würde; it all seems so unreal to him/me → es kommt ihm/mir alles so unwirklich vor; I seem to remember that you had that problem before → es kommt mir so vor, als hätten Sie das Problem schon einmal gehabt

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seem [siːm] vi → sembrare, parere
she seems capable → sembra (essere) in gamba
he seemed to be in difficulty → sembrava (trovarsi) in difficoltà
she seems to know you → sembra or pare che lei ti conosca
she seems not to want to leave → non dà segno di voler andar via
I seemed to be sinking → mi sembrava di affondare
I seem to have heard that before → questa mi pare di averla già sentita
I can't seem to do it → a quanto pare non ci riesco
how did he seem to you? → come ti è sembrato?
it seems (that) ... → sembra or pare che...+ sub
so it seems → così pare or sembra
it seems not → pare di no
it seems you're right → pare che tu abbia ragione
it seems ages since ... → mi sembra una vita da quando...
what seems to be the trouble? → cosa c'è che non va?
there seems to be a mistake → ci dev'essere un errore, sembra or pare che ci sia un errore
she died yesterday, it seems → pare che sia morta ieri
I did what seemed best → ho fatto quello che sembrava più opportuno

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seem [siːm] vi → sembrare, parere
she seems capable → sembra (essere) in gamba
he seemed to be in difficulty → sembrava (trovarsi) in difficoltà
she seems to know you → sembra or pare che lei ti conosca
she seems not to want to leave → non dà segno di voler andar via
I seemed to be sinking → mi sembrava di affondare
I seem to have heard that before → questa mi pare di averla già sentita
I can't seem to do it → a quanto pare non ci riesco
how did he seem to you? → come ti è sembrato?
it seems (that) ... → sembra or pare che...+ sub
so it seems → così pare or sembra
it seems not → pare di no
it seems you're right → pare che tu abbia ragione
it seems ages since ... → mi sembra una vita da quando...
what seems to be the trouble? → cosa c'è che non va?
there seems to be a mistake → ci dev'essere un errore, sembra or pare che ci sia un errore
she died yesterday, it seems → pare che sia morta ieri
I did what seemed best → ho fatto quello che sembrava più opportuno

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seem

v seem [siːm]

to have the appearance or give the impression of being or doing A thin person always seems (to be) taller than he really is; She seems kind; He seemed to hesitate for a minute. lyk, kom voor يَبْدو изглеждам zdát se, vypadat virke; synes scheinen φαίνομαι, δείχνω, δίνω την εντύπωση parecer näima به نظر آمدن näyttää sembler, paraître לְהֵירָאוֹת प्रतीत होना, लगना, जान पड़ना činiti se, izgledati látszik memberi kesan virðast, sÿnast sembrare ～に見える (~처럼) 보이다 atrodyti šķist; izskatīties kelihatan schijnen synes, virke, forekomme zdawać się, wydawać się parecer a părea, a da impresia казаться zdať sa, vyzerať zdeti se delovati verka, tyckas ดูเหมือนว่า (gibi) görünmek 好像 здаватися; уявляти نظر آنا dường như 好像

adj seeming

existing in appearance, though not usually in reality her seeming indifference. oënskynlik ظاهِري привиден zdánlivý tilsyneladende scheinbar φαινομενικός aparente näiv ظاهري näennäinen apparent לְמַראִית עַין आभास tobožnji, prividan látszólagos tampak sem virðist vera apparente 見せかけの (~) 처럼 보이는 tariamas šķietams pada lahirnya schijnbaar tilsynelatende, øyensynlig pozorny aparente apa­rent кажущийся zdanlivý navidezen na izgled skenbar, låtsad ที่ปรากฏต่อสายตา görünüşteki 表面上似乎的 уявний, несправжній ظاہر ہونا làm ra vẻ, bề ngoài 表面上的

adv seemingly

apparently; according to report Seemingly, her mother is very ill. skynbaar كما يَبْدو، كَما يَظْهَر както изглежда jak se zdá tilsyneladende anscheinend κατά τα φαινόμενα, προφανώς aparentemente nähtavasti ظاهرا nähtävästi apparemment כַּנִראֶה स्पष्टत: naoko látszólag rupanya að því er virðist apparentemente みかけは 겉보기에는 matyt šķiet; acīmredzot tampak pada lahirnya schijnbaar tilsynelatende, øyensynlig widocznie aparentemente în apa­renţă, aparent по-видимому zdanlivo očitno tobože tydligen ตามที่เห็นจากภายนอก göründüğü kadarıyla, sözüm ona 表面上似乎 на вигляд; очевидно ظاہری طور پر làm ra vẻ, bề ngoài 表面上

adj seemly

(negativeunseemly) (of behaviour etc) suitable, proper or decent seemly conduct. welvoeglike لائِق، مُناسِب пристоен slušný sømmelig schicklich ευπρεπής, ταιριαστός decente sünnis شايسته sopiva convenable נָאֶה, מַתאִים अच्छा, शोभनीय dolično, pristojno ill(end)ő patut viðeigandi, sæmandi conveniente きちんとした 품위 있는, 단정한 tinkamas, prideramas atbilstošs; pieklājīgs sopan gepast sømmelig, passende przyzwoity, właściwy correcto con­venabil подобающий, приличествующий vhodný, primeraný primeren pristojan passande, tillbörlig เหมาะเจาะ edebe uygun, nazik (行為)得體的 пристойний; підхожий معقول انداز میں lịch sự 适宜的

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seem → يَبْدو zdát (se) synes scheinen φαίνομαι parecer vaikuttaa joltakin sembler činiti se sembrare ように思われる 보이다 schijnen synes wydać się parecer казаться verka ที่ปรากฏ görünmek dường như 似乎