Words / C1

ri-ZEMBL-uh-ns/rɪˈzembləns/

Resemblance is likeness: a close resemblance, any resemblance is coincidental. Resemble is the verb. Similarity is a close cousin; look like is everyday. Resentment is bitter anger — extra n, different word. Do not write resemblance for a legal copy (that is replica or plagiarism).

Meaning

The fact of looking or seeming like someone or something else.

Examples

• “Any resemblance to the 2018 paper is coincidence, the authors say.”
• “The resemblance to last year’s paper was the shared dataset, not copied prose.”
• “Family resemblance is a likeness; a carbon copy is a different accusation.”

Good to know

A likeness. Verb: resemble. Everyday: look like. Mix-up: resentment (bitterness). Not “identical stolen text”.

Near in meaning

likeness

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