What does deeming mean?
"Deeming" is the present participle and gerund of the verb "deem," which means to judge, regard, or consider something to be of a particular character. When someone is deeming a proposal sound, a document authentic, or a behaviour unacceptable, they are formally exercising judgement about it. The word sits firmly in formal English: it flourishes in legal texts, regulations, and institutional writing, where phrases such as "deemed fit", "deemed appropriate", and "deemed necessary" are staples. Its tone conveys authority — deeming is what committees, courts, and officials do, not usually casual conversation. The word traces back to Old English dēman, meaning to judge or pronounce sentence, making it a linguistic cousin of "doom", which originally referred to a judgement before it took on its darker modern sense. In everyday use, "deeming" often signals deliberation: it suggests that a conclusion has been reached after consideration rather than assumed without thought. Writers choose it precisely because it lends weight and formality to an act of evaluation.
verbThe present participle and gerund of "deem": to regard, consider, or judge something in a specified way, especially in formal or official contexts.
- To judge, regard, or consider something in a stated way, typically in formal or legal contexts (e.g. 'the act was deemed unlawful').
"The committee is deeming all late submissions invalid this year."
"The regulator is deeming any undisclosed payments a breach of contract."
"Deeming the risk too great, the climbers abandoned the ascent."
Before it meant 'to consider,' the Old English ancestor of "deem" meant 'to judge' — as in passing doom itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of deeming
"Deeming" derives from Old English dēman, meaning to judge, determine, or pronounce sentence, which itself comes from the Proto-Germanic root *dōmjan, related to *dōmaz — the source of "doom". Cognates appear across the Germanic family, including Old Norse dæma. Over time "deem" narrowed from the broad sense of judging or sentencing to its modern sense of considering or regarding something as being a certain way.
Related word forms
How deeming is actually used
"Deem" belongs chiefly to formal registers — legal documents, official statements, and careful prose — where it carries an air of authority: someone deems something when they have the standing to judge it so. It is almost always used with an object plus an adjective or noun complement ('deemed valid', 'deemed a success') rather than alone. The gerund form 'deeming' appears mostly in continuous tenses or as the subject of a sentence.
Easily confused with deeming
"Dreaming" means experiencing thoughts or images during sleep or idle imagination, while "deeming" means judging or considering something to be a certain way.