resemble
re·sem·ble/ɹɪˈzɛmbəl/verb
resemble is spelled R-E-S-E-M-B-L-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (re·sem·ble). It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, resemble means “To be like or similar to (something); to represent as similar” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in resemble?
| Letters | 8: R-E-S-E-M-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: re·sem·ble |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is resemble?
Resemble appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce resemble?
- US /ɹɪˈzɛmbəl/
- US [ɹɪˈzɛmbl̩]
- Australia /ɹɪˈzembəl/
Resemble has 3 syllables, split re·sem·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-AcpoKrane-resemble.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of resemble
- resembles present, singular, he/she/it
- resembling participle, present
- resembled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does resemble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be like or similar to (something); to represent as similar.
The twins resemble each other.
- 2
archaicTo compare; to regard as similar, to liken.
- 3
obsoleteTo counterfeit; to imitate.
- 4
obsoleteTo cause to imitate or be like; to make similar.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Resemble in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to be like or similar to something else:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ressembler à |
| German | ähneln, gleichen |
| Portuguese | assemelhar-se a, semelhar |
| Spanish | resemblar(se) a, semblar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does resemble come from?
From Middle English resemblen, from Anglo-Norman resembler, ressembler, from re- + sembler (“to seem”). By surface analysis, re- + semble.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).