virtual
Use Virtual in a sentence
tʃu adjective
1.
being such in power, force, or effect, though not actually or expressly such: a virtual dependence on charity.
2.
3.
temporarily simulated or extended by computer software: a virtual disk in RAM; virtual memory on a hard disk.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To virtual
Collins
World English Dictionary
virtual (ˈvɜːtʃʊəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form of: a virtual revolution |
| 2. | physics being, relating to, or involving a virtual image: a virtual focus |
| 3. | computing of or relating to virtual storage: virtual memory |
| 4. | of or relating to a computer technique by which a person, wearing a headset or mask, has the experience of being in an environment created by the computer, and of interacting with and causing changes in it |
| 5. | rare capable of producing an effect through inherent power or virtue |
| 6. | physics See also exchange force designating or relating to a particle exchanged between other particles that are interacting by a field of force: a virtual photon |
| [C14: from Medieval Latin virtuālis effective, from Latin virtūs | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Virtual
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| 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. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
virtual
late 14c., "influencing by physical virtues or capabilities," from M.L. virtualis, from L. virtus "excellence, potency, efficacy," lit. "manliness, manhood" (see virtue). The meaning of "being something in essence or fact, though not in name" is first recorded 1650s, probably
via sense of "capable of producing a certain effect" (early 15c.). Computer sense of "not physically existing but made to appear by software" is attested from 1959.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
virtual
adj. [via the technical term `virtual memory', prob. from the term `virtual image' in optics]1. Common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical memory) simulated by a computer system as a convenient way to manage access to shared resources.
2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate. Oppose real.
Jargon
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary
virtual definition
jargon, architecture(Via the technical term virtual memory, probably from the term "virtual image" in optics) 1. Common alternative to logical; often used to refer to the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical memory) created by a computer system to help the system control access to shared resources.
2. Simulated; performing the functions of something that isn't really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual playmate.
Opposite of real or physical.
[Jargon File]
(1994-11-30)
Example sentences
The father of virtual reality believed technology promised infinite possibilities.
Virtual reality has proved to be immensely useful in military training.
Many programmers are creating on their desktops virtual environments populated with simulated animals.
Whoever came up with the idea of having the authors' names sucked down a virtual large intestine is a genius.
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