interpolation
Americannoun
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the act or process of interpolating or the state of being interpolated.
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something interpolated, as a passage introduced into a text.
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Mathematics.
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the process of determining the value of a function between two points at which it has prescribed values.
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a similar process using more than two points at which the function has prescribed values.
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the process of approximating a given function by using its values at a discrete set of points.
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noun
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the act of interpolating or the state of being interpolated
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something interpolated
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of interpolation
First recorded in 1605–15, interpolation is from the Latin word interpolātiōn- (stem of interpolātiō ). See interpolate, -ion
Explanation
An interpolation is an interruption or an addition inserted into something spoken or written. If you’re telling someone about the wild day you had, and your best friend keeps interrupting you to add details, that’s interpolation. Notice how interpolation looks a lot like interruption and interjection? It means something very similar. If you tell a story and then add some new parts, those are interpolations. If someone else adds new parts as you’re telling the story, that’s interpolation, too. Many ancient books have had new interpolations added every time they were printed. All interpolations add something to the original.
Vocabulary lists containing interpolation
The Book of Job: A Biography
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The Unforgettable Logan Foster
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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.
Interpolation is important because I think it gets to two other essential definitions, which are around publishing rights and master rights.
From The Verge • Sep. 15, 2021
Interpolation puts the ball’s time of flight at 5.8 seconds at a launch angle of 30.3 degrees.
From New York Times • Jun. 24, 2017
Interpolation can be used to predict values inside the domain and range of the data, whereas extrapolation can be used to predict values outside the domain and range of the data.
From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015
Figure 4 Interpolation occurs within the domain and range of the provided data whereas extrapolation occurs outside.
From Textbooks • Feb. 13, 2015
"Do you insist," I said, when we were left alone, "on being called an Interpolation?"
From The House of Martha by Stockton, Frank Richard
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.
