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See vs Seem - What's the difference?

see | seem |

As verbs the difference between see and seem

is that see is to perceive or detect with the eyes, or as if by sight while seem is (lb) to appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.

As a noun see

is a diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop, especially an archbishop.

see

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .

Verb

  • To perceive or detect with the eyes, or as if by sight.
  • * , chapter=1
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage=Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
  • , passage=But Richmond
  • # To witness or observe by personal experience.
  • #* (Bible), (w) viii. 51
  • Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
  • To form a mental picture of.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-23, author=(Mark Cocker)
  • , volume=189, issue=11, page=28, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Wings of Desire , passage=It is not just that we see birds as little versions of ourselves. It is also that, at the same time, they stand outside any moral process. They are utterly indifferent. This absolute oblivion on their part, this lack of sharing, is powerful.}}
  • # (label) To understand.
  • #* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
  • , volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic
  • # To come to a realization of having been mistaken or misled.
  • (label) To meet, to visit.
  • # To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit.
  • #* (Bible), 1 (w) xv. 35
  • And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death.
  • # To date frequently.
  • (label) To ensure that something happens, especially while witnessing it.
  • (label) To respond to another player's bet with a bet of equal value.
  • To foresee, predict, or prophesy.
  • To determine by trial or experiment; to find out (if'' or ''whether ).
  • (used in the imperative ) Used to emphasise a proposition.
  • Synonyms
    * (perceive with the eyes) behold, descry, espy, observe, view * (understand) follow, get, understand
    Derived terms
    * aftersee * besee * foresee * forsee * insee * missee * outsee * oversee * see a man about a dog * see for * see things * see someone right * see stars * see the light of day * see through * see-through * see with one's own eyes * undersee * unsee

    See also

    * look * sight * watch

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A diocese, archdiocese; a region of a church, generally headed by a bishop, especially an archbishop.
  • The office of a bishop or archbishop; bishopric or archbishopric
  • A seat; a site; a place where sovereign power is exercised.
  • * Spenser
  • Jove laughed on Venus from his sovereign see .
    Derived terms
    * Holy See

    See also

    * cathedra * cathedral * chair * throne

    Statistics

    *

    seem

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (lb) To appear; to look outwardly; to be perceived as.
  • * 1813 (14thc.), (Dante Alighieri), The Vision of Hell as translated by The Rev. H. F. Cary.
  • *:He, from his face removing the gross air, / Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and seem'd alone / By that annoyance wearied.
  • *
  • *:They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too..
  • *, title=The Mirror and the Lamp
  • , chapter=2 citation , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=19 citation , passage=Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.}}
  • *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=August 5, author=Nathan Rabin
  • , title= TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “I Love Lisa” (season 4, episode 15; originally aired 02/11/1993) , passage=So while Ralph generally seems to inhabit a different, more glorious and joyful universe than everyone else here his yearning and heartbreak are eminently relateable. Ralph sometimes appears to be a magically demented sprite who has assumed the form of a boy, but he’s never been more poignantly, nakedly, movingly human than he is here.}}
  • (lb) To befit; to beseem.
  • :(Spenser)
  • Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See

    Derived terms

    * meseems * seeming * seemingly

    Statistics

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