Synonym Game

extrapolation

[ik-strap-uh-leyt] Example Sentences Origin

ex·trap·o·late

[ik-strap-uh-leyt] verb, ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.
2.
Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range.
3.
Mathematics. to estimate (a function that is known over a range of values of its independent variable) to values outside the known range.
verb (used without object)
4.
to perform extrapolation.

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Extrapolation is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

Origin:
1825–35; extra- + (inter)polate

ex·trap·o·la·tion, noun
ex·trap·o·la·tive, ex·trap·o·la·to·ry [ik-strap-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] , adjective
ex·trap·o·la·tor, noun
o·ver·ex·trap·o·la·tion, noun

deduction, extrapolation, induction, generalization, hypothesis.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To extrapolation
Example Sentences
  • Even with chimps, it is a big extrapolation from them to us.
  • And simple extrapolation from their results to demands for across-the-board austerity isn't a wise approach.
  • The models have their weaknesses and uncertainties, but blind extrapolation is not one of them.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
extrapolate (ɪkˈstræpəˌleɪt)
 
vb
1.  maths Compare interpolate to estimate (a value of a function or measurement) beyond the values already known, by the extension of a curve
2.  to infer (something not known) by using but not strictly deducing from the known facts
 
[C19: extra- + -polate, as in interpolate]
 
extrapo'lation
 
n
 
ex'trapolative
 
adj
 
ex'trapolatory
 
adj
 
ex'trapolator
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

extrapolation
coined 1872 from extra + (inter)polation; original sense was "insert intermediate terms in a mathematical series." Transferred sense of "drawing a conclusion about the future based on present tendencies" is from 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
extrapolation [(ik-strap-uh-lay-shuhn)]

A mathematical procedure designed to enable one to estimate unknown values of a parameter from known values. A common method of extrapolation is to look at data on a curve, then extend the curve into regions for which there is no data. Extrapolation is often used to predict the future.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

extrapolation definition

mathematics, algorithm
A mathematical procedure which estimates values of a function for certain desired inputs given values for known inputs.
If the desired input is outside the range of the known values this is called extrapolation, if it is inside then it is called interpolation.
The method works by fitting a "curve" (i.e. a function) to two or more given points and then applying this function to the required input. Example uses are calculating trigonometric functions from tables and audio waveform sythesis.
The simplest form of interpolation is where a function, f(x), is estimated by drawing a straight line ("linear interpolation") between the nearest given points on either side of the required input value:
f(x) ~ f(x1) + (f(x2) - f(x1))(x-x1)/(x2 - x1)
There are many variations using more than two points or higher degree polynomial functions. The technique can also be extended to functions of more than one input.
(2007-06-29)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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