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asymptotic

or as·ymp·tot·i·cal

[as-im-tot-ik or as-im-tot-i-kuh l]
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adjective Mathematics.
  1. of or relating to an asymptote.
  2. (of a function) approaching a given value as an expression containing a variable tends to infinity.
  3. (of two functions) so defined that their ratio approaches unity as the independent variable approaches a limit or infinity.
  4. (of a formula) becoming increasingly exact as a variable approaches a limit, usually infinity.
  5. coming into consideration as a variable approaches a limit, usually infinity: asymptotic property; asymptotic behavior.
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Origin of asymptotic

First recorded in 1665–75; asymptote + -ic
Related formsas·ymp·tot·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for asymptotically

Historical Examples

  • The theory is not a thing complete from the first, but a thing which grows, as it were asymptotically, towards certainty.

    Fragments of science, V. 1-2

    John Tyndall

British Dictionary definitions for asymptotically

asymptotic

asymptotical

adjective
  1. of or referring to an asymptote
  2. (of a function, series, formula, etc) approaching a given value or condition, as a variable or an expression containing a variable approaches a limit, usually infinity
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Derived Formsasymptotically, 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

Word Origin and History for asymptotically

asymptotic

adj.

1670s, see asymptote + -ic. Related: Asymptotical; asymptotically.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper