approximation

plural approximations

1. countableuncountableThe act, process or result of approximating, as

   At the back of the cupboard, you find your interview skirt, the one you bought when you had cash to purchase an approximation of the fashion spreads you mulled over in magazines.

   2018, Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber (2020), page 5

2. The act, process or result of approximating, as:
   1. countableuncountablemathematicsAn imprecise solution or result that is adequate for a defined purpose.
   2. countableuncountablemedicineThe act of bringing together the edges of tissue to be sutured.

      Synonyms: coaptation

   3. countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe act of producing a near-simulation of the pronunciation of a foreign language for a loanword therefrom, or any given pronunciation resulting from that act.

      For some loanwords borrowed from French into English, the standard English pronunciation is an approximation of the French, as with denoument.