Much like みたい, the grammar point ようだ is employed to describe how something appears to the speaker. This auxiliary verb conveys three principal meanings.

たとえ - Analogy; describing (B) by comparing it to (A).

推定(すいてい) - Inference; making a judgment about (B) based on evidence from (A).

例示(れいじ) - Exemplification; giving (A) as a representative example of (B).

Typically, ようだ is founded on direct evidence or personal experience, indicating a high degree of certainty from the speaker. It is also often written using its kanji version, 様(よう)だ.

This grammar can follow any verb, い-Adjective, な-Adjective, or noun. Note that a な is needed when attaching it to a な-Adjective, and a の is required when attaching it to a noun.

• 電車(でんしゃ)はもうすぐ駅(えき)に着(つ)くようだ。
  It looks like the train will arrive at the station soon.
• 田中(たなか)さんは最近(さいきん)忙(いそが)しい様(よう)だ。
  It seems that Tanaka-san has been busy lately.
• 猫(ねこ)が嫌(きら)いだと言(い)っているけど、実(じつ)は好(す)きなようだ。
  He says he dislikes cats, but in reality, it seems like he's fond of them.
• この話(はなし)は全部(ぜんぶ)夢(ゆめ)のようだ。
  This whole story is like a dream.

While ようだ and そうだ can sometimes be used interchangeably, そうだ implies a much lower level of confidence in the speaker's assertion. For this reason, ようだ is the preferred option for describing things that are clearly visible or evident to all.