adj. 1
Approaching; proximate; nearly resembling.
adj. 2
Nearing correctness; nearly exact; not perfectly accurate.
approximate results or values
v. 1
To estimate.
I approximated the value of pi by taking 22 divided by 7.

Related words

Word family: approximately approximation approximative

Forms

Past participle: approximated
e.g. approximated → estimated, gauged, guessed, judged…

Choose the right word

Approximate, Approximation or Approximately?

Outside of mathematics, the correct use of approximation (and the kindred words approximate and approximately) is to express as near an approach to accuracy and certainty as the conditions of human thought or action in any given case make possible.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

comparable What's comparable to beautiful knowledge? Nothing!
crude Crude persuasion is to persistently egg someone on.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
approximate		falling
inexact		steady
approximative		falling
comparable		falling
crude		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: near¹
5 letters: close¹, guess¹, judge¹, rough¹, crude¹, gauge¹
6 letters: border²
7 letters: inexact³
8 letters: approach², estimate³, resemble³
9 letters: proximate³
10 letters: comparable⁴
11 letters: approaching³
13 letters: approximative

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (border² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: approximatif
Italiano: approssimativo
Deutsch: approximativ