simulacra
Copies lacking substance
Simulacra is the plural of simulacrum—an image, representation, or imitation of something.
The word often carries philosophical weight, suggesting copies that may lack or obscure an original: The theme park was a simulacrum of a European village.
In postmodern theory, simulacra are representations that have become detached from any underlying reality, copies without originals.
The singular simulacrum appears less frequently than the Latin plural.
Representations supplanting the genuine
- BaudrillardPhilosopher of simulated reality
- postmodernSkeptical of metanarratives
- representationDepiction or likeness
- signMark conveying information
symbol · mediation · spectacle · illusion · artifice · construct · virtuality · precession
Faithful scaled reproduction
- copyIdentical reproduction made
- facsimileExact reproduction of original
- reproductionCopying or procreation
- duplicateExact replica of original
counterfeit · forgery · knockoff · lookalike · doppelganger · clone · mimicry · likeness
Hazy and fantastical
- phantasmagoriaShifting sequence of illusions
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
oneiric · chimerical · phantasmal · mirage · spectral · otherworldly · haunting · eerie
hyperreality
Representations supplanting the genuine
- BaudrillardPhilosopher of simulated reality
- postmodernSkeptical of metanarratives
- representationDepiction or likeness
sign · symbol · mediation · spectacle · illusion · artifice · construct · virtuality · precession · Disneyland
replica
Faithful scaled reproduction
- copyIdentical reproduction made
- facsimileExact reproduction of original
- reproductionCopying or procreation
duplicate · counterfeit · forgery · knockoff · lookalike · doppelganger · clone · mimicry · likeness · effigy
dreamlike
Hazy and fantastical
- phantasmagoriaShifting sequence of illusions
- hallucinatorySeeming falsely perceived
- uncannyEerily beyond normal
ethereal · oneiric · chimerical · phantasmal · mirage · spectral · otherworldly · haunting · eerie · liminal
avatar
Digital user representation
- virtualExisting in effect, not fact
- syntheticProduced artificially, not natural
- deepfakeAI-manipulated video mimicry
CGI · hologram · rendering · pixel · algorithmic · generated · artificial · bot · NPC · filter
- pareidoliaface on Mars, man in the moon, rock faces
- media theoryagenda setting, gatekeeping, framing, hypodermic needle, magic bullet
- postmodernismdeconstruction, metafiction, hyperreality, pastiche, metanarrative
- literary criticismliterary theory, literary analysis, close reading, New Criticism, criticism
- Simulationsvirtual reality, VR, fluid dynamics, sandbox, Civilization
- surrealismdreamscapes, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, automatic writing, automatism
simulacraoriginals
Authentic first versions
the real thing · archetypes · prototypes · primary sources · genuine article