A simulacrum is a copy or imitation of something that looks real but isn't quite the genuine article. The word comes from Latin and originally meant a likeness or image.

When you see a wax figure of a famous person at a museum, you're looking at a simulacrum: it mimics the person's appearance down to individual hairs and skin texture, but it's still just colored wax. A plastic apple in a fruit bowl is a simulacrum of real fruit. Theme parks create simulacra of exotic locations, like when a resort in Nevada builds a miniature Eiffel Tower or a casino recreates ancient Rome with columns and statues.

The word often suggests something slightly artificial or hollow about the copy. A simulacrum of friendship might look like the real thing on the surface, with all the expected gestures and words, but lack genuine care underneath. In video games, characters called NPCs (non-player characters) are simulacra of real people: they walk, talk, and react, but follow programmed patterns rather than thinking for themselves.

When something is described as merely a simulacrum, it means the real thing would be much better.