emulation

1 of 2

noun

em·​u·​la·​tion ˌem-yə-ˈlā-shən 

-yü-

1

: ambition or endeavor to equal or excel others (as in achievement)

2

a

: imitation

b

: the use of or technique of using an emulator

3

obsolete : ambitious or envious rivalry

emulative

ˈem-yə-ˌlā-tiv 

adjective

emulatively adverb

emulative

2 of 2

adjective

em·​u·​la·​tive ˈemyəˌlā|t|iv 

-lə|, 

|t|, 

|ēv also |əv

: characterized by emulation

a son's emulative drive to achieve the same success as his father

: tending to emulation

a man's character marked by strong emulative qualities

: deriving from emulation or the impulse or drive to emulation

the exploitation of materialistic drives and emulative anxieties

—D. M. Potter

emulatively

|ə̇vlē, 

-li

adverb

Examples of emulation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Software emulation can still get the job done, just not as faithfully. — Mitch Wallace, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

The point is less about using your favorite Arturia vintage synth emulation, though, and more about using that MIDI data as a prompt. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 13 Aug. 2026

Apps written for Intel Macs will continue to run under Golden Gate through the Rosetta 2 emulation layer, but this will be the last macOS version to fully support that feature. — Edward Mendelson, PC Magazine, 13 July 2026

The vulnerability resides in the shadow MMU emulation, a process that translates host memory addresses to hypervisor memory addresses and vice versa. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

borrowed from Latin aemulātiōn-, aemulātiō, from aemulārī "to vie with, rival, imitate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at emulate entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for emulation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

emulation

noun

em·​u·​la·​tion ˌem-yə-ˈlā-shən 

: the ambition or effort to emulate

emulative

ˈem-yə-ˌlāt-iv 

adjective