semblance
n. uncountablen. a small amount of something that makes it look like it is there, even if it is not really true. You use it when you want to say that a situation looks normal or organized on the outside.
n. the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different. Often implies a minimal or superficial presence of a quality.
Life finally returned to some semblance of normality.
After the chaotic storm, the family worked together to restore some semblance of order to their living room.
The diplomat struggled to maintain a semblance of composure during the interview, despite the increasingly aggressive questioning regarding the failed treaty negotiations.
From Middle English semblaunce (“outward appearance, form; appearance without reality; condition or fact of being apparent; symbolic image; facial expression, countenance; conduct, manner; image, likeness; analogy, comparison”), from Anglo-Norman semblaunce and Old French semblance (modern French semblance), from semblant, the present participle of sembler (“to appear; to resemble, seem”), from Late Latin similāre, the present active infinitive of similō, a variant of Latin simulō (“to act or behave as if; to imitate, simulate”), from similis (“like resembling, similar to”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one; together”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). By surface analysis, semble + -ance (suffix forming nouns denoting conditions or states).
Almost always used in the singular form and frequently follows the quantifier 'some' or 'any'.