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If you have an affiliation with a group or another person, you are officially involved or connected with them.
Something that is amorphous has no clear shape, boundaries, or structure.
If one thing is analogous to another, a comparison can be made between the two because they are similar in some way.
Atavism is the reappearance of a genetic feature that has been missing for generations; it can also refer to a manner or style that resurfaces after a period of absence.
Candor is the quality of being honest and open in speech or action.
Consanguinity is the state of being related to someone else by blood or having a similar close relationship to them.
A credulous person is very ready to believe what people tell them; therefore, they can be easily tricked or cheated.
When you depict something, you illustrate it with a picture or image and/or describe it using words.
An effigy is a crude likeness or statue of a person, often of someone who is disliked.
Empirical evidence or study is based on real experience or scientific experiments rather than on unproven theories.
If you describe something as ersatz, you dislike it because it is artificial or fake—and is used in place of a higher quality item.
A facade is a false outward appearance or way of behaving that hides what someone or something is really like.
A feint is the act of pretending to make a movement in one direction while actually moving in the other, especially to trick an opponent; a feint can also be a deceptive act meant to turn attention away from one’s true purpose.
A gestalt refers to a complete unit of something or a set regarded as a whole, the quality or essence of which is different than the sum of its individual parts.
Things that are homologous are similar in structure, function, or value; these qualities may suggest or indicate a common ancestor or origin.
Something that is hypothetical is based on possible situations or events rather than actual ones.
An illustrative example serves to explain or describe something, often by providing pictures.
A metaphor is a word or phrase that means one thing but is used to describe something else in order to highlight similar qualities; for example, if someone is very brave, you might say that they have the heart of a lion.
Something that is notional exists only as an idea or in theory—not in reality.
If someone is objective, they base their opinions on facts rather than personal feelings or beliefs.
A patina is a smooth, shiny film or surface that gradually develops on things—such as wood, leather, and metal utensils—that have seen a lot of use.
The propinquity of a thing is its nearness in location, relationship, or similarity to another thing.
A semblance is an outward appearance of what is wanted or expected but is not exactly as hoped for.
Something that is specious seems to be good, sound, or correct but is actually wrong or fake.
To be tentative is to be hesitant or uncertain about something.
A veneer is a thin layer, such as a thin sheet of expensive wood over a cheaper type of wood that gives a false appearance of higher quality; a person can also put forth a false front or veneer.
The veracity of something is its truthfulness.
Verisimilitude is something’s authenticity or appearance of being real or true.
The verity of something is the truth or reality of it.
Noun
simulacrum
sim-yuh-LAY-kruhm
Context
In his vest pocket, Marcus carried a precious simulacrum or painted image of his beloved daughter. This portrait or simulacrum was kept carefully within the lid of his antique watch. Marcus had commissioned a famous artist to capture the likeness of his dear girl’s face, but the result, while a beautiful replica or simulacrum, could not exactly match its original, living model.
Crumb Simulation My simulacrum of simulated crumbs is so useful! Just think, instead of having to buy an expensive birthday cake for a party, you can just use my reusable simulated crumbs simulacrum! Wow! Everyone will think that the cake has already been served, and may be glad they missed it!
Examples
While clusters of fans have spent hours in the parking lot waiting for Pacquiao, the scene is merely a simulacrum of the madness back home.
—
Sports Illustrated
Using some old — fashioned, stick-shaped dry cell batteries, some wire and an oscillator chip to produce a reliably loud clicking sound, Woz constructed a pretty good simulacrum of a dynamite device.
—
CNN
If a 'simulation' is the representation of something that exists, call it the original thing, the 'simulacrum' is a representation that has been detached from, and no longer has anything to do with, the original thing.
—
TIME
Not a beauty, perhaps, but a simulacrum of beauty, as if the style and sophistication of her appearance embodied some feminine ideal of the age.
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NPR