seemly
/ˈsiːmli/adjective, adverb
seemly is spelled S-E-E-M-L-Y: 6 letters. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, seemly means “Of behavior, appropriate; suited to the occasion or purpose; becoming” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in seemly?
| Letters | 6: S-E-E-M-L-Y |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 90,432nd 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 seemly?
Seemly appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 90,432nd 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 seemly?
- /ˈsiːmli/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-seemly.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of seemly
- seemlier comparative
- seemliest superlative
- more seemly comparative
- most seemly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does seemly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of behavior, appropriate; suited to the occasion or purpose; becoming.
His behavior was seemly, as befits a gentleman.
adverb
- 1
Appropriately, fittingly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Seemly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense appropriate:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | schicklich, anständig, gesittet, passend, vernünftig, korrekt |
| Portuguese | decente, adequado |
| Spanish | ubicado, decente, adecuado |
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 seemly come from?
From Middle English semly, semely, semelich, from Old Norse sœmiligr (“seemly”); equivalent to seem + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic sæmilegur (“seemly, passable”), Danish sømmelig (“seemly”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).