simulation

[sim-yuh-ley-shuhn]

noun

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.

Other Word Forms

• nonsimulation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of simulation¹

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

Example Sentences

The simulation of human handicraft — of stagehands and horn players hiding in the wings — is unnerving.

From Los Angeles Times

The annual Han Kuang war games, which rehearse a military response to a Chinese attack, have been revamped to replace scripted exercises with more realistic simulations.

From BBC

He then got the camera back from Brown and followed the actors into the dead-end alley, with the camera going into handheld simulation mode.

From Los Angeles Times

Still, such simulations would provide a model of “all possible scenarios so that we have a better view of the range of possible ruptures that could happen.”

From Los Angeles Times

Cervas said that, using computer algorithms, political scientists are able to run simulations testing millions of different maps in different states and then compare the average number of Democratic and Republican districts.

From Salon

Related Words

• reproduction