hypothetically

American  

[hahy-puh-thet-i-klee] / ˌhaɪ pəˈθɛt ɪ kli /

adverb

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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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Other Word Forms

• unhypothetically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of hypothetically

hypothetical ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hypothetically

Recently, Marblehead settled on a plan that its voters could get behind: change the zoning codes at the Tedesco Country Club and golf course, where apartments could hypothetically be built, but likely won’t be.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

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

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

That scenario, hypothetically, is just one way we could know that a war with Russia had begun, or was about to.

From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025

I’d been speaking hypothetically about moving to New York a year early.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

• apparently
• doubtless
• probably
• seemingly
• supposedly
• surely