Hypothetical
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkəl/ · Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: Hypothetical is an adjective meaning Based upon a hypothesis; conjectural.
Meaning
Based upon a hypothesis; conjectural.
More Meanings
- (philosophy) Conditional; contingent upon some hypothesis/antecedent.
- A possible or hypothetical situation or proposition.
Example Sentences
These hypotheticals serve no purpose until we have more information.
Philosophers of doom tend to get hung up on elaborate sci-fi-inflected hypotheticals.
He told ABC News: “Just to give you a hypothetical, we would respond by leading a Nato – a collective – effort that would take out every Russian conventional force that we can see and identify on the battlefield in Ukraine and also in Crimea and every ship in the Black sea.”
Such a subjunctive as appears in the principal clause (i.e. the apodosis) of a conditional sentence may be called a hypothetical subjunctive. An hypothetical subjunctive expresses an action¹ which, while its non-occurrence is implied, is yet supposed to occur, if some other action occur.
Word Forms
- hypotheticals
Synonyms for hypothetical
Depending on context, synonyms include theoretical, theoretic, hypothetic.
Antonyms for hypothetical
Common opposites include actual, categorical.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include hypothetic, theoretical, theoretic, speculative, putative, presumptive.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
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