simulation

American  

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

noun

• simulations
  plural

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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simulation British  

/ ˌsɪmjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of simulating

2. the assumption of a false appearance or form

3. a representation of a problem, situation, etc, in mathematical terms, esp using a computer

4. maths statistics computing the construction of a mathematical model for some process, situation, etc, in order to estimate its characteristics or solve problems about it probabilistically in terms of the model

5. psychiatry the conscious process of feigning illness in order to gain some particular end; malingering

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsimulation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• simulations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of simulation

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

Explanation

A simulation is a representation of something, not the real thing, like the simulation of life in New York City, seen in movies that were shot on Hollywood sound stages and on the streets of Toronto. A simulation is something that represents something else — it isn't the real thing. At times you might perform a simulation as practice for real life, such as a flight simulation that’s used to train pilots. The word can also be used, often dismissively, to describe something that is a fake, like a simulation of excitement or the simulation of a perfect diamond.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

simulation simulations

While investor attention often centers on hardware, humanoid development relies on compute layers— simulation to generate synthetic data, foundation model training to build perception-to-action intelligence, and on-robot inference under tight latency, the bank notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss Heller as nothing more than an astroturfed simulation of popular constitutionalism.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

Switzerland's Breel Embolo was the first player to be sent off as a result of the new law following a controversial second yellow card for simulation against Argentina.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

As Rizzo’s study notes, this also means that the interactions with different people and cultures that used to happen organically in neighborhoods and in social spaces are increasingly being replaced by digital simulation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

The simulation jumped back to a split screen as I stomped away from Elliot and followed the Butterfly belowdecks.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Using modelling simulations, they determined the most likely scenario was that the object is powered by a central black hole surrounded by a cocoon of gas that makes it resemble a star.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Anthropomorphic language can inadvertently shift attention away from the real engineering challenges: ensuring AI systems validate assumptions, distinguish simulations from production environments and operate within appropriate safeguards before taking consequential actions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

All the while, an AI model is running real-time simulations to predict how the Pringles will turn out—and confirm they meet the standard of the ideal chip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

At UMD, Schmerr used computer simulations to model small moonquakes traveling through underground deposits of lunar ice.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

Her eyes were pulled into the television screen like JimmyTrotter’s had been as he hoped for a glimpse of the astronauts instead of those simulations and the broadcasts of mission control.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

Related Words

• reproduction