simulate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
simulates,
present (3rd person singular)
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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
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nonsimulativeadjective
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simulativeadjective
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simulatoryadjective
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unsimulatedadjective
-
unsimulatingadjective
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unsimulativeadjective
-
well-simulatedadjective
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simulativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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simulatesimple
-
simulatessimple
-
have simulatedperfect
-
has simulatedperfect
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am simulatingprogressive
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are simulatingprogressive
-
is simulatingprogressive
-
have been simulatingperfect progressive
-
has been simulatingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
One recent breakthrough, Bernstein analyst Jay Huang noted, is the ability for humanoids to simulate potential scenarios and plan for them through AI models.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Both types were tested under normal and elevated glucose conditions, allowing the researchers to simulate hyperglycemia.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
Seventy-three percent of the younger cohort called it unacceptable for brands to use AI to simulate people or human voices in their ads, but that figure fell to 53% among the 45-to-59-year-olds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Last Monday, Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, said the Ulchi Freedom exercise would simulate combat against North Korean troops battle-hardened by deployment in the Russia-Ukraine war.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Unlike weightlessness, it is easy to simulate the opposite condition, where the body “weighs” many times more than normal.
From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins
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
An AI interface simulates each step the candidate, or player, must make, from booking travel for a client visit to responding to pressure from a sales manager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
A companion chatbot is a computer program that simulates humanlike conversations to provide users with entertainment or emotional support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2025
In a lab at the University of East Anglia in Norwich we watch as he simulates what a toilet flush does to a wipe.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
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
The simulated particle bombardment produced several chemical changes, including the formation of nitrous oxide.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
It has simulated the outcome of all 380 Premier League games 10,000 times and came to the same conclusion as AI, and three of the pundits.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
On Wednesday night, Lai was put through his paces when he was escorted in an armoured vehicle convoy from the Presidential Office to a secure command centre in a simulated evacuation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I learned that the Marines are capable of employing those drones against simulated enemy targets,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The restaurant accommodations, great scallops of counters with simulated leather stools, are as spotless as and not unlike the lavatories.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
South Korean and US forces will hold major joint drills next week simulating combat against North Korean troops battle-hardened by deployment in the Russia-Ukraine war, an exercise spokesman said Monday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The U.S. has been using and experimenting with sea drones in waters around the world to carry out a range of missions, including conducting maritime surveillance, clearing sea mines and simulating attack swarms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
In recent years it has stepped up military drills near Taiwan, including simulating blockades on the island.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Directly simulating the long-term evolution of massive binary black holes remains computationally difficult because of the enormous timescales involved.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
The girls jerked left, then right, simulating the plane crash in dance.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
