1
as in relative
being such only when compared to something else
the movie's an approximate success, if you can overlook the overblown publicity that preceded it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in approximative
not precisely correct
police could only give us an approximate count of the number of people who attended the air show
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to reflect
to come near or nearer to in character or quality
Rob's violin performance last night didn't even approximate what he's really capable of when he's not feeling sick
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of approximate
Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 14 Jan. 2025
Icelandair is offering an approximate initial fare of $549.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2025
Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024
Tines has the vocal power to approximate Robeson’s majestic lower tones, but this hard-to-classify project, which Tines created with the director Zack Winokur, is most potent when the singer abandons bass regions and reaches into his eerily piercing falsetto register.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for approximate
Adjective
The machine will then add a preprogrammed amount of water from the reservoir based on the weight in the pot and provide you with an approximate cooking time, depending on the setting.
—Wilder Davies, Bon Appétit, 14 Jan. 2025
Icelandair is offering an approximate initial fare of $549.
—Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 1 Feb. 2025
Verb
The actress’ biggest challenge was trying to approximate Baez’s singing voice, a more classically beautiful instrument than Dylan’s.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024
Tines has the vocal power to approximate Robeson’s majestic lower tones, but this hard-to-classify project, which Tines created with the director Zack Winokur, is most potent when the singer abandons bass regions and reaches into his eerily piercing falsetto register.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for approximate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for approximate
Adjective
-
But nondenominational churches tend to be more active in this space, given their relative independence and flexibility, said Jakob King, the minister of administration at Eagle Christian Church.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Natalia’s seething, building jealousy is the driving force of tension in a mood piece that never slackens over 95 minutes, despite the relative lightness of its plotting.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The new case from Wyoming is not reflected in these statistics, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson confirmed.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
19 Feb. 2025
-
The implication was meant to reflect the perspective of writer Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane), but he’s not introduced until later in the show, his presence serving to place wild theories on the brothers and their possible motivates in the pages of Vanity Fair.—
Kevin Dolak,
The Hollywood Reporter,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Maybe the most contentious issue ever to divide these two camps is whether or not to replace notoriously inaccurate human home plate umpires with less fallible machines.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
21 Feb. 2025
-
A lot of us in the field, regardless of speciality, like to poke fun at how inaccurate things are depicted on television.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The Cubs will not match the $300 million payrolls supported by the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.—
Patrick Mooney,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
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The body inside matched Lowe’s description, McNeal said.—
Caleb Lunetta,
The Mercury News,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Fixes an issue where certain text hints in combat were incorrect when using a Friend's Support character Trailblazer.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
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But a New York Times analysis of the $55 billion in savings claimed by DOGE found that the math is marred with accounting errors, incorrect assumptions, outdated data and other mistakes.—
Talmon Joseph Smith,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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As a result, gold soared to a fresh all-time high earlier this month, approaching a record $3,000.—
Vinamrata Chaturvedi,
Quartz,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Speaking of her daughter, the beauty entrepreneur and growing mogul lights up when discussing how the next generation approaches skincare.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
18 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Approximate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/approximate. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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