Resembling

Resembling is the present participle of the verb resemble, used to indicate similarity in appearance, form, or character between two or more entities.

In usage, resembling can function as a participial adjective, as in “a statue resembling classical Greek sculpture,” or within a participial clause, as in “The twins, resembling each other, were mistaken for siblings.” In many contexts, however, the preferred verb form is resemble (as in “the twins resemble each other”).

Semantics and scope: Resemblance is a relation describing how one thing is like another. It can be perceptual (visual similarity) or structural (functional or genetic similarity). The term is related to, but not identical with, similarity and likeness, and it is often used to describe observable features or features inferred from them.

Etymology: Resembling derives from Old French ressembler, from Latin similis meaning “like.” The noun form is resemblance.

Examples and fields: In biology, resemblance is used to describe features that may arise from shared ancestry (homology) or convergent evolution (analogous resemblance). In linguistics and anthropology, it can refer to phonetic or cultural similarities between languages or groups. In everyday language, it appears in descriptive phrases that compare one thing to another.

See also: resemble, resemblance, similarity, likeness, mimicry.