approximate
adjective
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Definition of approximate
(Entry 1 of 2)
approximate
verb
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Definition of approximate (Entry 2 of 2)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for approximate
Synonyms: Adjective
almost, comparative, near, relative
Synonyms: Verb
approach, compare (with), measure up (to), stack up (against or with)
Antonyms: Adjective
absolute, complete, downright, out-and-out, outright, perfect, pure, unqualified
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Examples of approximate in a Sentence
Adjective
This is the approximate location of the ancient city. Can you give me the approximate cost of the repair?Verb
I've finally found a vegetarian burger that approximates the taste of real beef. The colors in the pictures can only approximate the real thing. an Australian who can approximate a strong New York City accent
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
The black lines, which mark the median values for the land parameter, serves as an approximate coastline. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "Here’s what Earth might look like to aliens," 16 Aug. 2019 The data is analyzed through an algorithm that uses roadway speed limits and vehicle speed limits to calculate approximate travel times from one point to another point along a route. — Kristi Nix, Houston Chronicle, "Missouri City’s new online travel map offers drivers real-time traffic info," 2 Aug. 2019 The expression harks back to days of old, when rulers of the measuring kind were uncommon and people used the length of the thumb from the knuckle to the tip as an approximate measure of one inch — inexact, but better than nothing. — Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Weighing the pros and cons of political correctness," 10 Aug. 2019 Both note that theorists modeling galaxy evolution must still rely on approximate models of star formation, which lie at the crux of the issue. — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, "Galaxy hunters spot hidden giants in the early universe," 7 Aug. 2019 Still, the approximate number of people for whom the services weren’t working was unclear. — Adam Carlson, PEOPLE.com, "Having Trouble with Facebook & Instagram? Users Report Issues Around the World as Company Blames Issue During 'Maintenance'," 3 July 2019 The report goes on to declare that Milinkovic-Savic would be paid between €6m and €7m per year in wages at United, the approximate equivalent of up to £120,000-per-week. — SI.com, "Man Utd Close to €80m Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Deal as Star Informs Teammates & Agent Flies to UK," 25 July 2019 The facility will open up 55 jobs with an approximate salary of $47,000 yearly. — Lily Jackson | Ljackson@al.com, al.com, "Alabama port business heats up as massive container refrigerator comes in," 24 July 2019 Instead, the names of the deceased will be engraved on a boulder, with each name’s placement on the stone marking the body’s approximate location. — Jasmine Johnson, Twin Cities, "‘Everything is biodegradable, including you.’ A Catholic cemetery in Mendota Heights offers green burial.," 20 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
The sport takes BASE jumping—where one jumps from a high point, freefalls, and deploys a parachute—and allows him or her to approximate flight. — National Geographic, "Has the world's deadliest sport become safer? It's complicated.," 21 Aug. 2019 What sinks the movie (rather than the character) are the tortured melodramatics of its backstage plot and dialogue that aims for clever — and sometimes is — but that generally approximates Shakespeare for, like, beginners. — Ty Burr, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Ophelia’ looks at ‘Hamlet’ from a very different perspective," 26 June 2019 And then, too, the times to completion fall along a curve that approximates a lognormal. — Quanta Magazine, "Why Don’t Patients Get Sick in Sync? Modelers Find Statistical Clues," 1 Mar. 2018 Gedanke then approximated each pixel to one of five shades of grey, and figured out which of the digits from 0 to 9 were most like each shade from a distance. — Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, "The Emerging Art of Drawing in Prime Numbers," 9 Aug. 2019 If possible, select a species or variety whose natural shape approximates its intended shape: Densa yew for a low sphere, or Pyramidalis yew for an obelisk, as examples. — Washington Post, "Topiary tips: When you want shrubs to double as sculpture," 30 July 2019 In the original Super Mario Maker, course makers could approximate some of these sub-goals by using existing tools in clever ways (especially after a post-launch update added features like keys and checkpoints). — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Super Mario Maker 2 review: A great sequel, playable on a better console," 26 June 2019 Richardson’s method, or any method devised since, still can’t solve the equations exactly, only approximate them. — Hannah Fry, The New Yorker, "Why Weather Forecasting Keeps Getting Better," 24 June 2019 In a 2017 study in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Samson gave activity trackers, which can approximate sleep time, to a community of Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania. — Bridget Alex, Discover Magazine, "How Our Sleeping Habits Helped to Make Us Human," 1 Jan. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'approximate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for approximate
approximate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of approximate
See the full definition for approximate in the English Language Learners Dictionary