approximative
Close but inexact
Approximative means approaching but not reaching exactness—roughly correct rather than precise.
The word functions like "approximate" but emphasizes the process or tendency toward accuracy: an approximative estimate, approximative methods.
It appears more often in technical and academic writing than in everyday speech.
Approximate value judgment
- guesstimateRough, intuitive calculation
- ballparkSports venue or estimate
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
calculation · evaluation · reckoning · appraisal · quantification · measurement · valuation · calibration
Lacking exactness or accuracy
rough · sketchy · general · unspecific · nebulous · ambiguous · hazy · indistinct
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
- inferenceConclusion reached through reasoning
extrapolation · deduction · guesswork · presumption · postulation · theory · educated guess · rough idea
estimation
Approximate value judgment
- guesstimateRough, intuitive calculation
- ballparkSports venue or estimate
- projectionSomething that extends outward
assessment · calculation · evaluation · reckoning · appraisal · quantification · measurement · valuation · calibration · computation
imprecise
Lacking exactness or accuracy
loose · rough · sketchy · general · unspecific · nebulous · ambiguous · hazy · indistinct · equivocal
speculation
Unproven theorizing or risky investment
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- suppositionBelief without proof
- assumptionUnverified belief accepted as true
inference · extrapolation · deduction · guesswork · presumption · postulation · theory · educated guess · rough idea · tentative