virtual
adjective
[ ˈvəːtʃʊ(ə)l ]
• almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition.
• "the virtual absence of border controls"
Similar:
effective,
in effect,
near,
near enough,
essential,
practical,
for all practical purposes,
to all intents and purposes,
in all but name,
indirect,
implied,
implicit,
unacknowledged,
tacit,
• not physically existing as such but made by software to appear to do so.
• "virtual images"
• relating to the points at which rays would meet if produced backwards.
• relating to or denoting infinitesimal displacements of a point in a system.
• denoting particles or interactions with extremely short lifetimes and (owing to the uncertainty principle) indefinitely great energies, postulated as intermediates in some processes.
Origin:
late Middle English (also in the sense ‘possessing certain virtues’): from medieval Latin virtualis, from Latin virtus ‘virtue’, suggested by late Latin virtuosus .
