ressemblent

Ressemblent is the third-person plural present indicative form of the French verb ressembler, meaning "they resemble" or "they look like." The verb ressembler is an regular -er verb whose core sense is to share similarities in appearance or character. Its meaning is closely linked to related words such as semblable (similar) and semblance (appearance).

The etymology of ressembler traces to Old French and ultimately to roots related to se mblare or semblance, with the sense of appearing alike. The word is connected to the root semantic field of similarity and appearance, which also yields nouns like semblable and the noun semblance.

Usage and grammar: ressembler takes the preposition à when describing resemblance to a person or thing. For example, Ils ressemblent à leurs parents means "they resemble their parents." To express mutual resemblance, the pronominal form se ressembler is used, as in Ils se ressemblent. In compound tenses, the reflexive form uses être as the auxiliary in the passé composé (Ils se sont ressemblés), while a non-reflexive construction can appear as Ils ont ressemblé à leurs parents, using avoir with the à-prepositional phrase.

Common nuances: ressembler emphasizes similarity in appearance or character, rather than action. It can describe both physical likeness and likeness in properties or situation. The term is widely used in everyday French, journalism, and literature, and it integrates smoothly with related expressions referring to resemblance and likeness.

See also: semblable, semblance, comparer, ressembler (verb).