approximating 1 of 2

approximating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of approximate
as in approaching
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of approximating
Verb
Whether any variant of such consciousness, approximating that of humans, can be achieved with a nonbiological foundation is assumed but remains to be seen. — Keith Tidman, Baltimore Sun, 24 Sep. 2026 At this point in the news cycle, unity, or at least something approximating it, needs to be the chief league objective. — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026 The show imagines communities centered on the Mississippi River, which flows through Minneapolis, and the installation echoes a riverbed, with platforms approximating islands. — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Execution reflects strategy consistently, rather than approximating it. — Don Dodds, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Uncanny too were the dusty pinks, approximating Penn’s beloved, nearly transparent poppies. — Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 22 June 2026 The National Football League, for all its flaws, understands the commercial necessity of approximating fairness. — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026 Enlarging the circle improves accuracy by better approximating a true circle. — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 25 May 2026 The band sounds a little like the Police approximating Weather Report, but Parker sounds much like the very guitarist who would join Tortoise and build the ETA IVTet—his tone incisive and notes restrained, his choices forever relating to the rhythm. — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for approximating
Adjective
  • The soul singer also holds two Guinness World Records, five Grammy Awards, more than over 64 million equivalent album sales, and 57 billion career streams.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 7 Oct. 2026
  • At present, tanker owners transiting the Strait of Hormuz must pay single trip hull insurance premiums equivalent to 6% to 10% of the vessel’s overall value.
    — , CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The case has been a political flashpoint in Nigeria for years, flaring up ahead of the 2023 election that brought Tinubu to office and again now with the 2027 vote fast approaching.
    — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • With multiple CMEs approaching Earth in quick succession, there's still considerable uncertainty over how geomagnetic conditions will develop.
    — Daisy Dobrijevic, Space.com, 8 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Thiessen said those events are not directly comparable to a new baseball stadium, which would host many more games regularly.
    — Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2026
  • That’s harder to find in fashion these days, as the comparable speed of digital culture increases trend turnover and even algorithmic advertising struggles to keep up with what looking empirically cool means.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • At the beginning, everything feels controlled, clean and carefully composed, reflecting how this family wants to see itself.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The crowds outside Comme des Garçons and Rick Owens still offer a distinct point of view, reflecting communities built around an aesthetic rather than a marketing exercise.
    — Alex Badia, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The film, based on Josh Malerman‘s 2024 novel Incidents Around the House, follows a family whose house is haunted by a sinister entity that looks and sounds identical to the mother, with both versions played by the star.
    — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026
  • This cartography of development is now helping researchers understand how identical cells in the early embryo develop into the distinct tissues and cell types of a complex organism.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Rentrak points out that 2026 hit the $8 billion mark in 282 days, matching the exact pace of 2011 and reaching that milestone a full 59 days earlier than in 2025.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2026
  • With the win, North Carolina improved to 3-2 and moved within one victory of matching its win total from last season, when the Tar Heels finished 4-8.
    — Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Bayzo's pub is analogous to an English tavern, with creamy cups of clam chowder and a piano likely to launch you into Elton John renditions.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • But the less strictly technical procedure Serra describes is analogous to operations at stake in Jonas’s own work, implying that the act of measurement by walking and seeing is tacitly existential.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • To be clear, uncertainty does not mean all outcomes are created equal.
    — Nathan Gonzales CQ-Roll Call, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • That’s equal to the size of about two UC Berkeleys and amounts to an increase of 28%.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 6 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Approximating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/approximating. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

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