Meaning & use
interpolate
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitivemathematicstechnical
To work out an unknown value that lies between two known values.
Grammar: Takes an object (interpolate a value) or none (interpolate between two points).
Patterns
- interpolate a value
- interpolate between two points
We can interpolate the temperature at noon from the 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. readings.
The software interpolates missing pixels in the image.
Interpolate between the two data points to estimate the price.
verbtransitiveformal
To add extra words, remarks or text into something that was already written or being said.
Grammar: Takes an object, often a remark or phrase: interpolate a comment.
Patterns
- interpolate something into something
The editor interpolated several lines into the manuscript.
He interpolated a joke during the serious speech.
Later copyists may have interpolated the extra paragraph.
verbtransitive or intransitiveformalold-fashioned
To break into a conversation with a remark.
Grammar: A formal, slightly old-fashioned use: she interpolated that the report was late.
Patterns
- interpolate that something
"But that is untrue," he interpolated.
She interpolated a question about the budget.
He kept interpolating small corrections.
Word forms
| third person singular | interpolates |
|---|---|
| past tense | interpolated |
| past participle | interpolated |
| -ing form | interpolating |
Common combinations
- interpolate between
- The program will interpolate between the two colors.
- interpolate data
- Researchers interpolate data to fill small gaps.
- interpolate missing values
- We interpolate missing values in the weather record.
- interpolate a remark
- He interpolated a remark about the weather.
- interpolate linearly
- You can interpolate linearly between the points.
Synonyms and how they differ
- insert
- Insert is the general word for putting something in, while interpolate usually implies adding to a text or filling between known values.
- estimate
- Estimate is broader and can be a guess outside the known range, whereas interpolate means estimating inside it.
- interject
- Interject means to break in with a spoken remark, and is the closest to the third sense of interpolate.
- insinuate
- Insinuate means to hint at something unpleasant, which is a different meaning entirely.
Opposites
Word family
- interpolation noun
- the process or result of interpolating
- interpolator noun
- a person or thing that interpolates
- extrapolate verb
- to estimate beyond the known range
Commonly confused: interpolate or extrapolate? interpolate or interpellate?
interpolate vs extrapolate
To extrapolate is to estimate a value outside the range of known data, whereas to interpolate is to estimate one inside it.
interpolate vs interpellate
Interpellate means to question a government official formally in a parliament, and is a rare, unrelated word.
Practice
You know the price in 2020 and 2024 and estimate 2022 from them. You are ___ the price.
Choose one answer.
Estimating a value between two known ones is interpolation. Extrapolating would mean estimating beyond the known years, such as 2026.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interpolate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.