Sentence:  Considering the state of the whole world , the cold war 's three exposed fronts did not <WSD>seem</WSD> terribly ominous ; but , in Senator Gore 's words , it was `` not a very encouraging '' situation that would confront John F. Kennedy on Inauguration Day . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect