extrapolation
extrapolation Lexical Profile
extrapolation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The action or process of estimating, predicting, or concluding something unknown by assuming that existing trends or known facts will continue or remain applicable.
"The economist's forecast for next decade's housing market was a logical extrapolation from current demographic trends."
In mathematics and statistics, the estimation of a value of a variable or function outside the tabulated or observed range of data.
"Linear extrapolation beyond the measured temperature range produced unreliable results because the material changed phase."
Word Nuance & Usage
In statistics and mathematics, extrapolation should be distinguished from interpolation: extrapolation estimates values outside a known range of data, whereas interpolation estimates values between two known data points.
• Rhymes for extrapolation
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the mid-19th century as a mathematical term by combining the Latin prefix extra- ('outside, beyond') with the ending of 'interpolation' (from Latin interpolare, 'to refurbish or alter').