virtual
Syllables: vir·tu·al/ˈvɜːt͡ʃʊəl/US/ˈvɜɹt͡ʃuəl/
virtual adjective: in effect or essence, rather than in fact or reality; also, imitated, simulated.
Adjective
virtual (not comparable)
- In effect or essence, rather than in fact or reality; also, imitated, simulated.
- In fact a defeat on the battlefield, Tet was a virtual victory for the North, owing to its effect on public opinion.
- Virtual addressing allows computer applications to believe that there is much more physical memory than actually exists.
- Synonyms:
- de facto
- For practical purposes, though not technically; almost complete, very near.
- The angry peasants were a virtual army as they attacked the castle.
- But it vvas plain, that the general reaſonings vvhich vvere employed againſt that povver, vvent directly to our vvhole legiſlative right; and one part of it could not be yielded to ſuch arguments, vvithout a virtual ſurrender of all the reſt.1769, [Edmund Burke], Observations on a Late State of the Nation, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 77
- Operating using a computer and/or online rather than physically present.
- a virtual assistant a virtual personal trainer
- In recent months, hospitals around the country, looking for ways to free up beds for coronavirus patients, began expanding their virtual offerings, launching video doctors' visits and virtual therapy sessions, and rolling out programs to remotely monitor vulnerable patients, like those in nursing...2020 August 10, Abigail Abrams, “Tech Companies are Transforming People’s Bedrooms into ‘Virtual Hospitals.’ Will It Last Post-COVID?”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC...
- Simulated in a computer and/or online.
- virtual machine virtual memory virtual private network
- The virtual world of his computer game allowed character interaction.
- Of a class member: capable of being overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.
- Pertaining to a theoretical infinitesimal velocity in a mechanical system that does not violate the system's constraints; also, of other physical quantities: resulting from such a velocity.
- virtual displacement virtual work
- Pertaining to a theoretical quality of something which would produce an observable effect if counteracting factors such as friction are disregarded; specifically, of a head of water: producing a certain pressure if friction, etc., is disregarded.
- Chiefly in virtual focus: of a focus or point: from which light or other radiation apparently emanates; also, of an image: produced by light that appears to diverge from a point beyond the reflecting or refracting surface.
- Antonyms:
- real
- Pertaining to particles in temporary existence due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
- Of a quantum state: having an intermediate, short-lived, and unobservable nature.
- Having efficacy or power due to some natural qualities.
- [H]is ſenſes flame / Flovv'd from his parts, vvith force ſo virtuall, / It fir'd vvith ſence things meere inſenſuall.1598, George Chapman, “Third Sestyad”, in Christopher Marlo[w]e, George Chapman, Hero and Leander: […], London: […] A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Richard Hawkins: […], published 1629, →OCLC
- Take an Apple, &c. and pricke it vvith a Pin full of Holes, not deepe, and ſmeare it a little vvith Sacke, or Cinnamon vvater, or Spirit of vvine, euery day for ten dayes, to ſee if the Virtuall Heat of the VVine, or Strong VVaters, vvill not Mature it.1631, Francis [Bacon], “IV. Century. [Experiments in Consort Touching Maturation, and the Accelerating thereof. And First Touching the Maturation and Quickening of Drinks. And Next Touching the...
- Having the power of acting without the agency of some material or measurable thing; possessing invisible efficacy.
- VVater, being contiguous vvith Aire, Cooleth it, but Moiſteneth it not, except it Vapour. The Cauſe is, for that Heat, and Cold haue a Virtuall Tranſition, vvithout Communication of Subſtance; but Moiſture not: […]1631, Francis [Bacon], “IX. Century. [Experiment Solitary, Touching the Working of Water vpon Aire Contiguous.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition...
- Producing, or able to produce, some result; effective, efficacious.
- For Dr. [John] Dee, in his Mathematical Preface to Euclids Elements of Geometrie, hath vvorthily taken pains to make Architecture a Mathematical Science; and as a vertual Proof of his ovvn Learned Plea, quotes tvvo Authentique Authors, viz. Vitruvius and Leo Baptiſta [i.e., Leon Battista Alberti]...1683, Joseph Moxon, “Numb[er] I. Applied to the Art of Printing. Preface.”, in Mechanick Exercises: Or, The Doctrine of Handy-Works. Applied to the Art of Printing. […], volume II, London: […] Joseph...
- Synonym of virtuous (“full of virtue; having excellent moral character”).
- The moſt in ſoule deiected; the moſt baſe, / And moſt vnſeruiceable weede, vnles / You by your heauenly Influence change his vilenes / Into a vertuall habit fit for vſe.1607, Thomas Dekker, “The Whore of Babylon. […]”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume II, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 216
- Her the grim conqueror's iron might / Avengeing clutched, distrusting rent; / […] / Not virtual France, the France benevolent, / The chivalrous, the many-stringed, sublime / At intervals, and oft in sweetest chime; […]1898, George Meredith, “Alsace-Lorraine”, in Odes in Contribution to the Song of French History, Westminster, London: Archibald Constable and Co […], →OCLC, stanza X, page 91
- Synonyms:
- virtuous
Noun
virtual (countable and uncountable, plural virtuals)
- Preceded by the: that which is imitated or simulated rather than existing in fact or reality; (countable) an instance of this.
- That which is simulated in a computer and/or online; virtual reality; (countable) an instance of this; specifically (gambling), a computer simulation of a real-world sport such as horse racing.
- A virtual (adjective sense 3.3) member function of a class.
virtual meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
virtual in Hindi
- simulated in a computer and/or online
- वर्चुअल varcual
virtual in Tamil
- உளதன்ன, உண்ணிகர், மாய, மாயமான, மாயம்
virtual in Urdu
- اصلی, فی الواقع, حقیقی, معنوی
virtual in Bengali
- simulated in a computer and/or online
- ভার্চুয়াল bharcuẏal
More languagesFewer languages
- virtual in Malayalam
- സാങ്കല്പിക, അവാസ്തവിക
- virtual in Kannada
- ವಾಸ್ತವವಾಗಿ, ಕಾರ್ಯತಃ
- virtual in Nepali
- भर्चूअल bharcūal
- virtual in Arabic
- خَيَالِيّ ḵayāliyy
- virtual in Malay
- maya
- virtual in Indonesian
- maya
- virtual in Persian
- مجازی majâzi
- virtual in Thai
- เสมือนจริง
Examples of virtual in a sentence
- VIRTUAL is opposed to actual.— […] A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence.1857, William Fleming, “VIRTUAL”, in The Vocabulary of Philosophy, Mental, Moral, and Metaphysical; […], London; Glasgow: Richard Griffin...
- [H]is [God's] Omnipreſence fills / Land, Sea, and Aire, and every kinde that lives, / Fomented by his virtual power and warmd: […]1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert...
Synonyms of virtual
Antonyms
Forms of virtual
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | vertual |
| alternative form | virtuall |
| alternative form | vertuall |
| Noun | |
| plural | virtuals |
Origin of virtual
PIE word *wiHrós The adjective is derived from Middle English vertual, virtual [and other forms], from Old French vertüal, vertüelle (modern French virtuel), or from their etymon Medieval Latin virtuālis (“of or pertaining to potency or power; having power to produce an effect, potent; morally virtuous”), from Latin virtūs (“goodness, virtue; manliness, virility”) (from vir (“adult male, man”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós (“man”), possibly from *weyh₁- (“to chase, hunt, pursue”)) + -tūs (suffix forming collective or abstract nouns)) + -ālis (suffix forming adjectives of relationship), modelled after virtuōsus (“good, virtuous”). Sense 4 (“pertaining to a theoretical infinitesimal velocity in a mechanical system that does not violate the system’s constraints”) is borrowed from French virtuel, from Middle French virtuel, from Old French vertüal, vertüelle: see above. The noun is derived from the adjective. Cognates * French virtuel * Italian virtuale * Spanish virtual
Words formed from virtual
- hypervirtual
- mobile virtual network operator
- nonvirtual
- non-virtual interface
- non-virtual interface pattern
- paravirtual
- pure virtual function
- pure virtual method
- semivirtual
- televirtual
- virtopsy
- virtual 8086 mode
- virtual address
- virtual assistant
- virtual autism
- virtual backlot
- virtual class
- virtual community
- virtual consumption
- virtual currency
- virtual darkness
- virtual data room
- virtual desktop
- virtual dinner party
- virtual disk
- virtual drive
- virtual duet
- virtual fencing
- virtual focus
- virtual Friday
- virtual function
- virtual image
- virtualisation
- virtualiser
- virtualizer
- virtualise
- virtualize
- virtualism
- virtualist
- virtuality
- virtualization
- virtual keyboard
- virtually
- virtual machine
- virtual machine monitor
- virtual market
- virtual meeting
- virtual memory
- virtual method
- virtualness
- virtual organization
- virtual particle
- virtual pet
- virtual piano
- virtual private network
- virtual private server
- virtual proxy
- virtual reality
- virtual real mode
- virtual safety car
Phrases with virtual
- virtual sex
- virtual foci
- virtual pets
- virtual disks
- virtual drives
- virtual images
- virtual pianos
- virtual season
- virtual classes
- virtual focuses
- virtual Fridays
- virtual markets
37 more phrasesFewer phrases
- virtual methods
- virtual proxies
- virtual seasons
- virtual storage
- virtual backlots
- virtual desktops
- virtual focusses
- virtual machines
- virtual meetings
- virtual memories
- virtual storages
- virtual YouTuber
- virtual addresses
- virtual functions
- virtual keyboards
- virtual particles
- virtual realities
- virtual unrolling
- virtual YouTubers
- virtual assistants
- virtual currencies
- virtual data rooms
- virtual unwrapping
- virtual communities
- virtual safety cars
- virtual temperature
- pure virtual methods
- virtual temperatures
- virtual organizations
- pure virtual functions
- virtual dinner parties
- virtual private servers
- virtual machine monitors
- virtual private networks
- full-dive virtual reality
- full-dive virtual realities
- mobile virtual network operators
Questions about virtual
- What does virtual mean?
- Virtual means in effect or essence, rather than in fact or reality; also, imitated, simulated.
- What is virtual in Hindi?
- Virtual in Hindi is वर्चुअल (varcual). See Virtual meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use virtual in a sentence?
- VIRTUAL is opposed to actual.— […] A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence.
- What part of speech is virtual?
- Virtual can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce virtual?
- Virtual is pronounced /ˈvɜːt͡ʃʊəl/ (UK).
Words near virtual in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: virtual (page history and authors); virtual (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); virtual (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); virtual (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); virtual (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-virtual.wav.
Cite this entry: “virtual.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/virtual. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.