heuristic
serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems independently, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: The course uses a heuristic teaching method to allow students to find answers without being directly taught.
of, relating to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial-and-error methods.
Computers, Mathematics. pertaining to a trial-and-error method of problem solving used when an algorithmic approach is impractical.
a heuristic method of argument.
the study of heuristic procedure.
Origin of heuristic
1Other words from heuristic
- heu·ris·ti·cal·ly, adverb
- non·heu·ris·tic, adjective
- un·heu·ris·tic, adjective
- un·heu·ris·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use heuristic in a sentence
The rapid digitization of news, expedited by the pandemic, means more people are relying less on personally fact-checking information, and more on using heuristics to determine what's true or false.
This heuristic, to my eye, played out during the latest presidential election.
Why We Judge People Based on Their Relatives - Facts So Romantic | Diana Fleischman | November 11, 2020 | Nautilus
British Dictionary definitions for heuristic
/ (hjʊəˈrɪstɪk) /
helping to learn; guiding in discovery or investigation
(of a method of teaching) allowing pupils to learn things for themselves
maths science philosophy using or obtained by exploration of possibilities rather than by following set rules
computing denoting a rule of thumb for solving a problem without the exhaustive application of an algorithm: a heuristic solution
(plural) the science of heuristic procedure
Origin of heuristic
1Derived forms of heuristic
- heuristically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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