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heuristically.

Adverb
Academic
MEANING

By using practical rules, informed shortcuts, or trial to explore a problem rather than a guaranteed exact method.

Use it for

narrowing a search to promising options; an informed shortcut that may not guarantee the best answer; testing a useful working approach

Words that belong together

  • search heuristically
  • solve heuristically
  • heuristically useful

On the page

The procedure searches heuristically, narrowing promising routes without testing every possibility.
Word forms
Base
heuristically

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Academic vocabulary

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Invariable adverb. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation, qualification. Commonness: uncommon.

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