hypothetically
Americanadverb
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according to what is assumed as a premise in an argument.
Hypothetically, without friction or other resistance a toy car on a track could cruise along indefinitely, provided it never went higher than its starting point.
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in a way that is theoretically possible but not proven; conjecturally; speculatively.
Hypothetically, these nanobots would be able to traverse any type of terrain and would therefore be ideal for exploration missions on other planets.
While hypothetically this could be the case, you appear to have no evidence to support it.
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according to what is assumed or imagined; supposedly.
I do legal transcription and hypothetically clean the house while my children are at school.
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Etymology
Origin of hypothetically
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But even if that’s not the end of the brutal crypto selloff, Strategy “has the wherewithal to ride out a hypothetically much steeper Bitcoin rout,” TD Cowen analyst Lance Vitanza said in a note Friday.
From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026
A double-leveraged rare-earth ETF, which hypothetically might benefit from economic development in Greenland, can go up 63% in a day and 100% in a week:
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026
Or, hypothetically, when a member of the U.S. military or the executive branch tries to make several years’ worth of salary by betting on whether a looming secret operation will succeed?
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
However, hypothetically putting that responsibility on pregnant people — having to determine whether or not to give their newborn the dose right after birth or wait 30 days — would be “completely irresponsible,” Washington said.
From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025
“I’m saying that, hypothetically, I wouldn’t do it.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
