Approximate

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /əˈpɹɒk.sɪ.mət/

Definitions

1. Close to the actual value or description but not completely exact or precise
2. Being nearly equal to a given standard or measure but lacking in perfect accuracy or specificity
3. Referring to a value or description that is not entirely precise but offers a reasonable estimation or closeness

Etymology: "Approximate" began as a Middle English adjective meaning "close, near (to); similar; intimate," and the sense of "close but not exact" grew out of that original nearness. It came from Latin "approximatus," the past participle of "approximare," which combined "ad-" ("to, towards") with "proximare," "to come near." That last verb is built on "proximus," "nearest," so the word is a close cousin of "proximate" and "proximity," all sharing the idea of being next to something. The verb arrived later, in Middle English, as "approximaten," meaning "to bring or put close to." The verb form was built from the adjective with the verb-forming "-en," so for a while the adjective and verb shared the same core sense of drawing near. The noun, meaning a rough estimate, was formed by turning the adjective into a noun, a process that is common in English with "-ate" words. In practice, the noun and verb both carry the idea that a thing has been brought close to a target without quite reaching it.

Synonyms: estimated, rough, close, near, similar

Antonyms: exact, precise, accurate, definite, certain