simulation

American  

[sim-yuh-ley-shuhn] / ˌsɪm yəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. imitation or enactment, as of something anticipated or in testing.

2. the act or process of pretending; feigning.

3. an assumption or imitation of a particular appearance or form; counterfeit; sham.

4. Psychiatry. a conscious attempt to feign some mental or physical disorder to escape punishment or to gain a desired objective.

5. the representation of the behavior or characteristics of one system through the use of another system, especially a computer program designed for the purpose.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsimulation noun

Etymology

Origin of simulation

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English simulacion, from Latin simulātiōn- (stem of simulātiō ) “a pretense”; simulate, -ion

Example Sentences

Researchers still lack detailed databases describing the mechanical properties of DNA structures, and simulation tools for predicting behavior at this scale are not yet fully developed.

From Science Daily

The researchers point out that their simulations did not include cartilage, which may have helped absorb stress in the joints.

From Science Daily

They directly compared those results with a simulation run on an IBM quantum computer.

From Barron's

But it’s clear at this point that what we’re watching is meant to be understood as a flagrant simulation.

From Los Angeles Times

They paired these measurements with detailed ab initio simulations that tracked thousands of possible atomic pathways and calculated how likely decay was along each one.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• reproduction