simulate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
simulates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
simulated,
past participle, past
-
simulating
present participle
-
to create a simulation, likeness, or model of (a situation, system, or the like).
to simulate crisis conditions.
-
to make a pretense of; feign.
to simulate knowledge.
- Synonyms:
- counterfeit, pretend
-
to assume or have the appearance or characteristics of.
He simulated the manners of the rich.
- Synonyms:
- affect
adjective
verb
-
to make a pretence of; feign
to simulate anxiety
-
to reproduce the conditions of (a situation, etc), as in carrying out an experiment
to simulate weightlessness
-
to assume or have the appearance of; imitate
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonsimulateadjective
-
nonsimulativeadjective
-
simulativeadjective
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simulatoryadjective
-
unsimulatedadjective
-
unsimulatingadjective
-
unsimulativeadjective
-
well-simulatedadjective
-
simulativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
simulatesimple
-
simulatessimple
-
have simulatedperfect
-
has simulatedperfect
-
am simulatingprogressive
-
are simulatingprogressive
-
is simulatingprogressive
-
have been simulatingperfect progressive
-
has been simulatingperfect progressive
Past
-
simulatedsimple
-
had simulatedperfect
-
was simulatingprogressive
-
were simulatingprogressive
-
had been simulatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of simulate
1400–50; late Middle English (adj.) < Latin simulātus (past participle of simulāre ), equivalent to simul- (variant of simil-, base of similis similar ) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
When you simulate something, you imitate it. Hollywood makeup artists can use pencils and gray wigs to simulate old age in a young actor. It can also mean to model — a computer can simulate disaster scenarios in cities. If you really admire someone's calm-under-pressure attitude, you may try to simulate their demeanor. When opening a present, it's polite to simulate surprise and excitement about the gift item, even if you already have it or it is ugly as dirt. Don't try to simulate your parents' signatures on excuse cards, though — signatures are unique to individuals and impossible to simulate perfectly.
Vocabulary lists containing simulate
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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:
Next, the hackers play pre-recorded videos of previous victims the target is acquainted with to simulate a legitimate call – except that the audio would appear to malfunction.
From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026
“And instead of having to guess or A/B test with millions of users, because we have all this user data, we’re able to create other AI agents to simulate billions of consumer interactions,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2026
These models use established physical principles to simulate how Earth's atmosphere, oceans, ice, and land respond to changes in the climate system.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026
The free portion of Boldin does not simulate Roth conversion activity — you have to pay for that level of analysis.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Normally the big cats were not given food one day a week, to simulate conditions in the wild.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
The strategic board wargame was released in 1978 and simulates the entire North African campaign of World War Two.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The team used a sophisticated shock physics code that simulates how high speed impacts break apart solid rock and create permeable regions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 2, 2026
It also simulates the behavior of floating ice shelves, including those in the Ross and Weddell Seas.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
A companion chatbot is a computer program that simulates human conversations to provide users with entertainment or emotional support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Others, led by an instinct that simulates foresight, merely lay their eggs on a leaf so that a browsing caterpillar will eat them inadvertently.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Before Wingstop launched its loyalty program called Club Wingstop earlier this year, AWS stress-tested the system with huge volumes of simulated traffic to make sure it would hold up on busy days.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2026
Paralives is a life-simulation game, a category in which players control the lives of simulated people in a virtual world, including their relationships, looks, homes and careers.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2026
During a simulated bacterial challenge, CBN reduced the body's ability to defend itself.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
In a simulated environment, A.I. agents were each tasked with running a vending machine and told to maximize profits.
From Slate ● Oct. 25, 2026
The crew quarters stood against the outer hull of the constantly spinning ship to maximize simulated gravity.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
All participants had a live conversation with a clinician and a professional interpreter, simulating the informational discussion of the risks and benefits which typically precedes myeloma treatment.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
The Maryland team also used a hybrid quantum system, but their experiment focused on simulating the Yukawa potential, a mathematical description of an interaction relevant to nuclear and particle physics.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026
For Ronald Kline, a historian at Cornell University, "the phrase 'super intelligence' means more than simulating human intelligence, it means going beyond human intelligence," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
In recent years it has stepped up military drills near Taiwan, including simulating blockades on the island.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
The head zoo keeper ordered a crane operator, who was standing by, to drop a navy blue canopy over the dome, thus simulating Earthling night inside.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
