Word.ws English Dictionary

semblable

/ˈsɛmbləbəl/

semblable adjective: apparent.

Adjective

semblable (comparative more semblable, superlative most semblable)

  1. (obsolete) Apparent.
  2. (obsolete) Conformable.
  3. (obsolete) Similar.
    • [C]ompare his [Henry I of England's] lyfe with his two bretherne, william, called Rouſe [William II of England], and Robert le courtoiſe [Robert Curthose], they both nat hauyng ſẽblable lernyng with the ſayd Henry, […]1531, Thomas Elyot, “Why Gentlemen in this Present Tyme be Nat Equall in Doctryne to the Auncient Noble Men”, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 1st boke...

Noun

semblable (plural semblables)

  1. (obsolete) something similar; likeness; representation
    • […] but in the verity of extolment, I take him to be a soul
      of great article, and his infusion of such dearth and rareness
      as, to make true diction of him, his semblable is his
      mirror, and who else would trace him his umbrage,
      nothing more.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...

Forms of semblable

Adjective
comparativemore semblable
superlativemost semblable
Noun
pluralsemblables

Origin of semblable

From Middle English [Term?], from Middle French [Term?], from Old French sembler (“to be like”) + -able.

Words formed from semblable

Questions about semblable

What does semblable mean?
Semblable means apparent.
What part of speech is semblable?
Semblable can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce semblable?
Semblable is pronounced /ˈsɛmbləbəl/.

Words near semblable in the dictionary

  1. sematropes
  2. sematurid
  3. sematurids
  4. semaxanib
  5. semba
  6. semblable
  7. semblables
  8. semblably
  9. semblance
  10. semblances
  11. semblancies

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: semblable (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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