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If you feel a sense of doom when asked to define deem, we’re here with some details for your dome (sense 7). While today deem is used generally as a synonym of consider (as in “a movie deemed appropriate for all ages”), its origins are more formal, coming specifically from the realm of law. The oldest meaning of deem, which comes from the Old English verb dēman (relative of dōm, meaning “doom”) is “to sit in judgment upon,” as employed by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queen: “... at th’one side six Judges were dispos’d, / To view and deem the deeds of arms that day.” This sense was obsolete by the early 17th century, and other senses including “to expect or hope” have come and gone, but deem’s use overall has never dimmed. In fact, today’s most common meaning of “to come to think or judge something; to consider” has also been in use since Old English and is still deemed quite common.
Examples of deem in a Sentence
Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2026
Bella Hadid deemed the Puma Speedcat worthy of Cannes on Friday with a jaunt through the coastal city during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival.
—Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 15 May 2026
Sources said Mbappe had not been deemed fit to train until the day before the match.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Once a medication is deemed appropriate to be classified as a generic drug, neither the manufacturer nor the doctor who previously prescribed the medication are obligated to inform the patient of the cosmetic changes.
—Barbara Wolf, STAT, 15 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deem
Cite this Entry
“Deem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deem. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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