Meaning & use
virtual
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Existing or happening on a computer or over the internet rather than in the physical world.
Grammar: Comes before a noun: a virtual meeting, not a meeting that is virtual.
Patterns
- a virtual meeting
- virtual reality
- a virtual tour of something
The school held a virtual open day for families who lived far away.
He took a virtual tour of the museum from his sofa.
Players can build a virtual city and invite friends to visit.
adjectivebefore a noun
Almost the same as something, so that the difference hardly matters in practice.
Grammar: Comes before a noun and usually has an or an: a virtual monopoly.
Patterns
- a virtual certainty
- a virtual stranger
- the virtual absence of something
The new rule created a virtual ban on night flights.
After the storm, the town was a virtual island.
She is a virtual stranger to me, though we met once.
Common combinations
- virtual reality
- The training course uses virtual reality to practice fire drills.
- virtual meeting
- We have a virtual meeting with the Tokyo office at nine.
- virtual classroom
- Students log into the virtual classroom from home.
- virtual certainty
- Her victory is now a virtual certainty.
- virtual assistant
- The virtual assistant reminded him about the appointment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- online
- Online simply says something happens on the internet, while virtual can also suggest a computer-made imitation of a real place or thing.
- digital
- Digital describes information stored as numbers or electronic data, whereas virtual describes a simulated or remote version of something real.
- practical
- In the 'almost' sense, practical (as in 'practical certainty') is similar, but virtual sounds a little stronger about how close to complete it is.
- near
- Near before a noun, as in 'a near disaster', means close to but not quite, while virtual means so close the difference hardly matters.
Opposites
Word family
- virtually adverb
- almost, or by computer means
- virtuality noun
- the state of being virtual
- virtualize verb
- to create a software version of something physical
- virtualization noun
- the process of creating software versions of computer equipment
Commonly confused: virtual or virtuous?
virtual vs virtuous
Virtuous means morally good; it comes from virtue, not from the computer sense of virtual.
Practice
The company has no office, so all its staff attend ___ meetings from their homes.
Choose one answer.
Virtual here means taking place online. Physical would mean in person, virtuous means morally good, and vertical means upright.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “virtual”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.