三者均可用作連系動(dòng)詞，意為“好像”、“似乎”等，區(qū)別如下：
1. 從詞義上看：look 指視覺印象;appear 指外表給人的印象;這兩者可能是真象也可能是假象，appear 的不確定性更大一些。seem 側(cè)重指根據(jù)某種跡象作出的推斷，也不一定是事實(shí)。
2. 從句型搭配和用法上看：
(1) 三者均可后接不定式，但 look 之后一般只限于 to be (且較少見)。如：
正：He seems [appears，looks] to be tired. 他好像很累了。
正：He seems [appears] to have travelled a lot. 他似乎去過不少地方。
誤：He looks to have travelled a lot.
(2) look, seem 之后可接介詞 like，但 appear 之后一般不能。如：
He looks [seems] like a fool. 他看起來像個(gè)大傻瓜。
(3) appear 和 seem 不用于進(jìn)行時(shí)態(tài)，但 look 有時(shí)可這樣用。如：
正：He looks [is looking] well. 他看上去氣色不錯(cuò)。
誤：He is seeming [appearing] well.
(4) 三者均可用于 it 開頭的句子，且三者之后均可接以 as if 或 as though 引導(dǎo)的從句，另外 appear 和 seem 之后還可接 that 引導(dǎo)的從句。如：
It looks [seems，appears] as if he has lost interest in his job. 看來他對(duì)自己的工作已失去了興趣。
It seems [appears] that he is very tired. 他似乎很累了。
注：后接 that 從句時(shí)，有時(shí)可用 so，not 代之。如：
A：Are they reliable? 他們可靠嗎?
B：It seems [appears] so (not). 似乎是可靠的(不可靠)。
另外，比較以下同義句型：
It seems [appears] that he is ill.=He seems [appears] to be ill. 他似乎病了。