Approximate

See: Approximate Function, ≈, Approximation Optimization Task, Approximate Inferencing Task, Approximate Bayesian Inference Algorithm, Approximate Computation Task, Approximate String Matching Task, Similar.

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References

• (WordNet, 2009) ⇒ http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=approximate
  • S: (v) approximate, come close (be close or similar) "Her results approximate my own"
  • S: (v) estimate, gauge, approximate, guess, judge (judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)) "I estimate this chicken to weigh three pounds"
  • S: (adj) approximate, approximative, rough (not quite exact or correct) "the approximate time was 10 o'clock"; "a rough guess"; "a ballpark estimate"
  • S: (adj) approximate, near (very close in resemblance) "sketched in an approximate likeness"; "a near likeness"
  • S: (adj) approximate, close together (located close together) "with heads close together"; "approximate leaves grow together but are not united"
• http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/approximate
  • Verb
    • 1. To carry or advance near; to cause to approach. To approximate the inequality of riches to the level of nature. --Burke.
    • 2. To come near to; to approach. The telescope approximates perfection. --J. Morse.
    • 3. To estimate.
  • Adjective
    • 1. Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
    • 2. Near correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate. Approximate results or values.
• (WordNet, 2009) ⇒ http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=approximation
  • S: (n) estimate, estimation, approximation, idea (an approximate calculation of quantity or degree or worth) "an estimate of what it would cost"; "a rough idea how long it would take"
  • S: (n) approximation (the quality of coming near to identity (especially close in quantity))
  • S: (n) approximation (an imprecise or incomplete account) "newspapers gave only an approximation of the actual events"
  • S: (n) approximation, bringing close together (the act of bringing near or bringing together especially the cut edges of tissue)
• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approximate
  • An approximation (usually represented by the symbol ≈) is an inexact representation of something that is still close enough to be useful. Although approximation is most often applied to numbers, it is also frequently applied to such things as mathematical functions, shapes, and physical laws.
  • Approximations may be used because incomplete information prevents use of exact representations. Many problems in physics are either too complex to solve analytically, or impossible to solve using the available analytical tools. Thus, even when the exact representation is known, an approximation may yield a sufficiently accurate solution while reducing the complexity of the problem significantly.
  • For instance, physicists often approximate the shape of the Earth as a sphere even though more accurate representations are possible, because many physical behaviours — e.g. gravity — are much easier to calculate for a sphere than for other shapes.
• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approximation_error
  • The approximation error in some data is the discrepancy between an exact value and some approximation to it. An approximation error can occur because
    • 1. the measurement of the data is not precise (due to the instruments), or
    • 2. approximations are used instead of the real data (e.g., 3.14 instead of π).
  • In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, the numerical stability of an algorithm in numerical analysis indicates how the error is propagated by the algorithm.

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