semblance

/'sembləns/

Thân thiện

He tried to maintain a semblance of order in the busy classroom.

Definition

Noun: 1. An outward appearance or form, especially one that is not entirely true or genuine. It refers to how something looks or seems on the surface, which may differ from its true nature. 2. A slight, faint, or superficial likeness or resemblance to something. It indicates a similarity that is not complete or substantial. 3. (Archaic) An image or representation of something.

Examples of Usage

• Outward/False Appearance:
  • The ceasefire brought a semblance of peace to the region, though tensions remained high.
  • She maintained a semblance of calm during the interview, despite feeling very nervous.
• Resemblance/Likeness:
  • The robot had a semblance of human movement, but its gestures were still mechanical.
  • There wasn't even a semblance of truth in his wild story.

Advanced Usage

• "under/beneath the semblance of": used to indicate that a different reality exists behind a false outward appearance.
  • Under the semblance of friendship, he was secretly gathering information against them.
• "to have/take on the semblance of": to begin to appear or seem like something.
  • As the fog rolled in, the familiar landscape took on the eerie semblance of another world.

Variants and Related Words

• Resemble (verb): to look like or be similar to someone or something.
• Assemblance (noun, archaic): a gathering or assembly. (Note: This is a different word, not a direct variant of "semblance".)

Synonyms

• Appearance: the way that someone or something looks.
• Facade: a false appearance that is intended to deceive.
• Guise: an external form, appearance, or manner of presentation, typically concealing the true nature.
• Likeness: the fact of being similar in appearance; a resemblance.
• Pretense: an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true.

Antonyms

• Reality: the state of things as they actually exist.
• Difference: a point or way in which people or things are dissimilar.
• Substance: the most important part of something; the real physical matter or material.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "a semblance of order/normality/calm": a small amount or appearance of a desired state, often after disorder.
  • After the storm passed, the community worked to restore a semblance of normality.
• "bear/have no semblance to": to not look like or be similar to something at all.
  • The movie bears no semblance to the original book.

Học thuật

Noun

1. picture consisting of a graphic image of a person or thing
2. an erroneous mental representation
3. an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading
   • he hoped his claims would have a semblance of authenticity
   • he tried to give his falsehood the gloss of moral sanction
   • the situation soon took on a different color

Từ đồng nghĩa

• likeness
• illusion
• gloss
• color
• colour