simulation
Americannoun
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simulations
plural
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imitation or enactment, as of something anticipated or in testing.
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the act or process of pretending; feigning.
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an assumption or imitation of a particular appearance or form; counterfeit; sham.
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Psychiatry. a conscious attempt to feign some mental or physical disorder to escape punishment or to gain a desired objective.
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the representation of the behavior or characteristics of one system through the use of another system, especially a computer program designed for the purpose.
noun
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the act or an instance of simulating
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the assumption of a false appearance or form
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a representation of a problem, situation, etc, in mathematical terms, esp using a computer
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maths statistics computing the construction of a mathematical model for some process, situation, etc, in order to estimate its characteristics or solve problems about it probabilistically in terms of the model
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psychiatry the conscious process of feigning illness in order to gain some particular end; malingering
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of simulation
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English simulacion, from Latin simulātiōn- (stem of simulātiō ) “a pretense”; see simulate, -ion
Explanation
A simulation is a representation of something, not the real thing, like the simulation of life in New York City, seen in movies that were shot on Hollywood sound stages and on the streets of Toronto. A simulation is something that represents something else — it isn't the real thing. At times you might perform a simulation as practice for real life, such as a flight simulation that’s used to train pilots. The word can also be used, often dismissively, to describe something that is a fake, like a simulation of excitement or the simulation of a perfect diamond.
Vocabulary lists containing simulation
Computer Science and Technology - Introductory
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Computer Science and Technology - Middle School
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Divergent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The experiment performed a calculation beyond the practical reach of leading classical simulation techniques while also providing evidence that the quantum computer produced a reliable result.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
"Prior to this, our security team had even been preparing a simulation exercise, precisely because we understand the value to everyone -- our students, our personnel -- of safety."
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
Mistaken identity: At the World Cup, the VAR was intervening on simulation.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss Heller as nothing more than an astroturfed simulation of popular constitutionalism.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
I was going to be the best of the best someday, commander in chief, but today’s simulation showed just how far I still had to go to get there.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
If the heliosphere contracted as the simulations suggest, Earth's atmosphere would have been directly exposed to a very different interstellar environment during those periods.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
According to the simulations, the heliosphere may at times have shrunk to a size smaller than Earth's orbit, temporarily leaving our planet outside the Sun's protective bubble.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
The approach could give physicists a new way to study black hole formation and other extreme behaviors of spacetime without relying entirely on numerical computer simulations.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
It runs thousands of simulations across different market environments, testing whether a portfolio can support spending and goals across a range of outcomes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Frank tried to imagine staying here with Iris, putting on a R.O.F.L. shirt, selling crystals and dream catchers to demigod travelers and lobbing gluten-free cupcake simulations at passing monsters.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
