adjective/verb · academic
approximate
UK/əˈprɒksɪmət/US/əˈprɑːksəˌmeɪt/ap·PROX·i·mate
close to the actual number or time but not exact
Examples
“The survey gives an approximate total for household income in the region.”
“We can only approximate the value until more data are available.”
“The map shows approximate locations of the archaeological sites.”
Band 8 sentence
“While the survey provides only approximate figures, they nevertheless indicate a clear upward trend in urban population.”
Collocations
- approximate figure
- approximately equal to
- make an approximation
Word family
Common mistakes
This result is approximate 50%.→This result is approximately 50%.
We approximate the number to 100.→We approximated the number to 100.
Say it for a higher band
5about→6around→7+approximate
Synonyms
rough
estimated
Easily confused
estimation
“The estimation of the project's cost was carried out by the finance team.”
approximation
“The approximation used in the model simplified the computer calculations.”
Related words
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