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Virtual vs Electronic - What's the difference?

virtual | electronic |

As adjectives the difference between virtual and electronic

is that virtual is in effect or essence, if not in fact or reality; imitated, simulated while electronic is : Of or pertaining to an electron or electrons.

As a noun virtual

is in C++, a virtual member function of a class.

virtual

Alternative forms

* vertual (obsolete) * vertuall (qualifier) * virtuall (obsolete)

Adjective

(-)
  • In effect or essence, if not in fact or reality; imitated, simulated.
  • In fact a defeat on the battlefield, Tet was a virtual victory for the North, owing to its effect on public opinion.
    Virtual addressing allows applications to believe that there is much more physical memory than actually exists.
  • * Fleming
  • A thing has a virtual existence when it has all the conditions necessary to its actual existence.
  • * De Quincey
  • to mask by slight differences in the manners a virtual identity in the substance
  • Having the power of acting or of invisible efficacy without the agency of the material or measurable part; potential.
  • * Francis Bacon
  • Heat and cold have a virtual transition, without communication of substance.
  • * Milton
  • Every kind that lives, / Fomented by his virtual power, and warmed.
  • Nearly, almost. (A relatively recent corruption of meaning, attributed to misuse in advertising and media. )
  • The angry peasants were a virtual army as they attacked the castle.
  • * 2012 , Chelsea 6-0 Wolves [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19632463]
  • The Chelsea captain was a virtual spectator as he was treated to his side's biggest win for almost two years as Stamford Bridge serenaded him with chants of "there's only one England captain," some 48 hours after he announced his retirement from international football.
  • Simulated in a computer or online.
  • The virtual world of his computer game allowed character interaction.
  • Operating by computer or in cyberspace; not physically present.
  • a virtual''' assistant; a '''virtual personal trainer
  • (computing, object-oriented programming, of a class member) Capable of being overridden with a different implementation in a subclass.
  • (physics) Pertaining to particles in temporary existence due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.
  • Synonyms

    * de facto

    Antonyms

    * de jure * legal * real

    Derived terms

    * virtual reality * virtually

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (computing) In C++, a virtual member function of a class.
  • ----

    electronic

    English

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (physics, chemistry): Of or pertaining to an electron or electrons.
  • Operating on the physical behavior of electrons, especially in semiconductors.
  • Generated by an electronic device.
  • Of or pertaining to the Internet.
  • * {{quote-magazine, title=No hiding place
  • , date=2013-05-25, volume=407, issue=8837, page=74, magazine=(The Economist) citation , passage=In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.}}

    Derived terms

    (electronic)

    Statistics

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