Counterfactual

Quick meaning: Counterfactual is an adjective meaning Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue.

Meaning

Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue.

More Meanings

1. Of or in comparison to a hypothetical state of the world.
2. A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts.
3. A hypothetical state of the world, used to assess the impact of an action.
4. (linguistics, philosophy) A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false.

Example Sentences

The counterfactual 1982 of the novel plays variations on our historical record and contains clear allusions to the present.

Imagine a counterfactual in which we started relaxing restrictions at an even earlier time, just as the cases began to trend downward.

We can spin out complicated counterfactuals that justify the Iraq invasion, and complicated counterfactuals that make it look even worse.

The implicit counterfactual — that these members would support gun control if not for the $1,000 they received from the NRA — seems unlikely to me.

Word Forms

• counterfactuals

Synonyms for counterfactual

Depending on context, synonyms include contrafactual, counterfact, misapprehension, misconception, misunderstanding, falsehood.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include conditional, assumed, intervener, putative, speculative, hypothetical.

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