Originally, deem meant "to legally condemn." The word is still frequently used in contexts pertaining to the law but with the general meaning "to judge" or "to decide after inquiry and deliberation," as in "The act was deemed unlawful" or "The defendant is deemed to have agreed to the contract."

Meaning of deem in English deem verb [ T not continuous ] formal uk / diːm / us / diːm / Add to word list C2 to consider or judge something in a particular way:

deem [ deem ] Phonetic (Standard)IPA verb (used without object) to form or have an opinion; judge; think: He did not deem lightly of the issue.