virtual

[vir·tu·al]

The adjective virtual is used to describe something that exists in essence but not in actuality. You may have made a virtual friend on an online gaming site, but don't expect that person to meet you for coffee.

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Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing.

a.
Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing.

a.
Being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual presence of a man in his agent or substitute.

Virtual

Vir"tu*al , a. [Cf. F. virtuel. See Virtue.] 1. Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing.

Heat and cold have a virtual transition, without communication of substance.

Every kind that lives, Fomented by his virtual power, and warmed.

2. Being in essence or effect, not in fact; as, the virtual presence of a man in his agent or substitute.

A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence.

To mask by slight differences in the manners a virtual identity in the substance.

Principle of virtual velocities (Mech.), the law that when several forces are in equilibrium, the algebraic sum of their virtual moments is equal to zero. -- Virtual focus (Opt.), the point from which rays, having been rendered divergent by reflection of refraction, appear to issue; the point at which converging rays would meet if not reflected or refracted before they reach it. -- Virtual image. (Optics) See under Image. -- Virtual moment (of a force) (Mech.), the product of the intensity of the force multiplied by the virtual velocity of its point of application; -- sometimes called virtual work. -- Virtual velocity (Mech.), a minute hypothetical displacement, assumed in analysis to facilitate the investigation of statical problems. With respect to any given force of a number of forces holding a material system in equilibrium, it is the projection, upon the direction of the force, of a line joining its point of application with a new position of that point indefinitely near to the first, to which the point is conceived to have been moved, without disturbing the equilibrium of the system, or the connections of its parts with each other. Strictly speaking, it is not a velocity but a length. -- Virtual work. (Mech.) See Virtual moment, above.

Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or sensible part; potential; energizing.

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Usage Examples

Credit or debit cards, for starters, are nothing short of shoppers' Novocain. Even in the age of digital purchases and virtual money, we still attach a special value to dirty paper with pictures of presidents on it. Handing some of that to a cashier simply hurts more than handing over a little sliver of plastic.

The video game culture was an important thing to keep alive in the film because we're in a new era right now. The idea that kids can play video games like Grand Theft Auto or any video game is amazing. The video games are one step before a whole other virtual universe.

Misspelled Form

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Other Usage Examples

These sites have torn down the geographical divide that once prevented long distance social relationships from forming, allowing instant communication and connections to take place and a virtual second life to take hold for its users.

They're now turning those seeds into intellectual property, so they have a virtual lock on the seeds upon which we all depend for our food and survival.

Take young researchers, put them together in virtual seclusion, give them an unprecedented degree of freedom and turn up the pressure by fostering competitiveness.