virtually
- 1Very close to being true, but not quite.
Virtually everyone in my class has a phone.
The new car is virtually silent when you start it.
Similarnearly, practically
Note
- 2Done using a computer or over the internet.
Our class met virtually when the school was closed.
Grandpa joined the birthday party virtually from his laptop.
Similardigitally
Oppositephysically
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- 3Acting like something in every way that matters, but not really or officially that thing.
Our neighbor's dog spends so much time here that it is virtually our dog.
With the teacher out sick all month, the student helper was virtually running the class.
Similareffectively, practically
Oppositenominally, officially
Note
- 4In math, said of a group when a part of it, a fixed fraction of the whole, has some property.
Our professor proved that the group was virtually abelian.
A group like this one is virtually cyclic.
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- 5In advanced math, said of a space that gains a property once unwrapped into a limited number of copies.
Our teacher explained why the surface is virtually orientable.
She spent a year trying to prove that the space was virtually Haken.
Note
Practice
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Origin
This word is made from virtual and the ending -ly.