virtual

adj. [via the technical term virtual memory , prob.: from the term virtual
image in optics] 1. Common alternative to logical ; often used to refer to
the artificial objects (like addressable virtual memory larger than physical
memory) simulated by a computer system as a convenient way to manage access
to shared resources. 2. Simulated; performing the functions of something
that isn't really there. An imaginative child's doll may be a virtual
playmate. Oppose real.