From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishresemblancere‧sem‧blance /rɪˈzembləns/ ●○○ noun [countable, uncountable] LIKE/SIMILARif there is a resemblance between two people or things, they are similar, especially in the way they look → similarityresemblance between The resemblance between Susan and her sister was remarkable.bear a (close/striking/uncanny etc) resemblance to somebody/something (=look like) Tina bears a striking resemblance to her mother.bear little/no resemblance to somebody/something What happens in the film bears little resemblance to what actually happened.COLLOCATIONSADJECTIVES/NOUNS + resemblancea close resemblanceThe vase bore a close resemblance to one owned by my mother.a strong resemblanceThis slender, feathery herb has a strong resemblance to fennel.a striking resemblance (=very strong and noticeable)There's a striking resemblance between the two boys.a remarkable resemblance (=unusual or surprising)Everyone notices the remarkable resemblance between Mathilda and Anne.an uncanny resemblance (=noticeable and difficult to explain)I'd always thought that Jo and Freddie had an uncanny resemblance.a slight/faint resemblance (=not strong)Don't you think she has a slight resemblance to that blonde singer in Abba?a passing resemblance (=slight)There was no more than a passing resemblance between the sisters.a superficial resemblance (=when something seems to look like something else, but is in fact quite different)Its spines give it a superficial resemblance to a hedgehog.somebody's physical resemblance to somebodyPeople often commented on his physical resemblance to his father.a family resemblance (=between members of the same family)I couldn't detect any family resemblance.verbsbear/have a resemblance to somebody/somethingPeople said he bore a striking resemblance to the president. bear little/no resemblance to somebody/somethingHe bore little resemblance to the photograph in the newspaper.phrasethere the resemblance ends (=they are not similar in any other way)They are both strong-minded women, but there the resemblance ends.
Examples from the Corpus
resemblance• When you look at this painting and the one by Rembrandt, there is certainly a resemblance.• In its structure and methods, the program bears a strong and not accidental resemblance to the United States Peace Corps.• Although the fish have little external resemblance to each other, skeletally they are quite similar.• When he met Francesca's aunt he was instantly struck by the family resemblance.• The Japanese maple leaf bears a striking resemblance to a marijuana leaf.• The Soviet ambassador to the United Nations and other officials noted the resemblance between the two proposals.• How I hated these portraits, the photographs, the resemblances!• Unfortunately the resemblance ends there as his songs are nowhere near as good as the master's.• The policies of central banks in the post-cold war years bear an uncanny resemblance to those of the 1920s.• He was dressed in the garb of a Catholic priest and he bore an uncanny resemblance to the now legendary Spencer Tracy.resemblance between• You can see a family resemblance between me and Uncle Mike. 