virtual

vir·tu·al  (vûrch-l)

adj.

1. Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name: the virtual extinction of the buffalo.

2. Existing in the mind, especially as a product of the imagination. Used in literary criticism of a text.

3. Computer Science Created, simulated, or carried on by means of a computer or computer network: virtual conversations in a chatroom.

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[Middle English virtuall, effective, from Medieval Latin virtulis, from Latin virts, excellence; see virtue.]

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virtu·ali·ty (-l-t) n.

Usage Note: When virtual was first introduced in the computational sense, it applied to things simulated by the computer, like virtual memorythat is, memory that is not actually built into the processor. Over time, though, the adjective has been applied to things that really exist and are created or carried on by means of computers. Virtual conversations are conversations that take place over computer networks, and virtual communities are genuine social groups that assemble around the use of e-mail, webpages, and other networked resources.·The adjectives virtual and digital and the prefixes e- and cyber- are all used in various ways to denote things, activities, and organizations that are realized or carried out chiefly in an electronic medium. There is considerable overlap in the use of these items: people may speak either of virtual communities or of cybercommunities and of e-cash or cybercash. To a certain extent the choice of one or another of these is a matter of use or convention (or in some cases, of finding an unregistered brand name). But there are certain tendencies. Digital is the most comprehensive of the words, and can be used for almost any device or activity that makes use of or is based on computer technology, such as a digital camera or a digital network. Virtual tends to be used in reference to things that mimic their "real" equivalents. Thus a digital library would be simply a library that involves information technology, whether a brick-and-mortar library equipped with networked computers or a library that exists exclusively in electronic form, whereas a virtual library could only be the latter of these. The prefix e- is generally preferred when speaking of the commercial applications of the Web, as in e-commerce, e-cash, and e-business, whereas cyber- tends to be used when speaking of the computer or of networks from a broader cultural point of view, as in cybersex, cyberchurch, and cyberspace. But like everything else in this field, such usages are evolving rapidly, and it would be rash to try to predict how these expressions will be used in the future.

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virtual

Adjective

1. having the effect but not the appearance or form of: the investigation has now come to a virtual standstill

2. Computers designed so as to extend the potential of a finite system beyond its immediate limits: virtual memory

3. of or relating to virtual reality [Latin virtus virtue]

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	virtual - being actually such in almost every respect; "a practical failure"; "the once elegant temple lay in virtual ruin" practical realistic - aware or expressing awareness of things as they really are; "a realistic description"; "a realistic view of the possibilities"; "a realistic appraisal of our chances"; "the actors tried to create a realistic portrayal of the Africans"
	2.	virtual - existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact; "a virtual dependence on charity"; "a virtual revolution"; "virtual reality" essential - basic and fundamental; "the essential feature"

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virtual

adjective practical, near, essential, implied, indirect, implicit, tacit, near enough, unacknowledged, in all but name

Translations

virtual [ˈvəːtjuəl] adj → virtual

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virtual [ˈvəːtjuəl] adj (Comput, Physics) → virtuel(le) (= in effect);

it's a virtual impossibility → c'est quasiment impossible;

the virtual leader → le chef dans la pratique

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virtual [ˈvəːtjuəl] adj (Comput, Phys) → virtuell;

it's a virtual impossibility → es ist so gut wie unmöglich;

to be the virtual leader → eigentlich or praktisch der Führer sein

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virtual [ˈvəːtjuəl] adj → effettivo/a, vero/a;

(COMPUT, PHYSICS) → virtuale (= in effect): it's a virtual impossibility → è praticamente impossibile;

the virtual leader → il capo all'atto pratico