Simulating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of constructing a representation that imitates the features of another entity in order to observe its reactions or behaviors
2. Engaging in the creation of a model that mirrors the attributes of a real system for purposes of analysis or testing
3. The act of creating an artificial version of something to replicate its characteristics and examine its responses or functionalities

Etymology: The verb "simulate" reached English in the 1650s, borrowed directly from the Latin "simulatus," the past participle of "simulare," meaning "to make like, imitate, copy, or feign." That Latin verb was built on "similis," "like," which also gives English "similar." So the core idea was always resemblance: to make one thing look like another. The Latin sense of feigning carried into English as well. Early English uses of the adjective "simulate," which appeared in Middle English around 1425, meant "feigned" or "pretended," and the older connotation of deception lingered alongside the neutral sense of imitation. Over time the pretence faded, and "simulating" came to describe producing a faithful copy or model of something, whether a physical object, a process, or a situation, without the original being present.

Synonyms: imitating, replicating, mimicking, emulating, reproducing

Antonyms: distorting, altering, falsifying, changing, deforming