Definition of interpolation
plural interpolations
1 a
: an act of interpolating something or the state of being interpolated : the introduction or insertion of something spurious or foreign
- … versions disfigured by the frequent and substantial interpolation of freely invented matter …
- —Bernard Knox
b
: something that is introduced or inserted : an insertion or addition
- How can such interpolations be identified, and what literary processes led to these additions? —Jan Nattier
2
: the process of calculating an approximate value based on values that are already known
- The age of *tephras|tephra|} that were not directly dated was estimated by linear interpolation from the calibrated date.
- —Richard J. Payne and Jeffrey J. Blackford
