counterfactual

[koun-ter-fak-choo-uhl]

noun

Logic.

1. a conditional statement the first clause of which expresses something contrary to fact, as “If I had known.”

counterfactual

/ ˌkauntəˈfæktʃʊəl /

adjective

1. expressing what has not happened but could, would, or might under differing conditions

noun

1. a conditional statement in which the first clause is a past tense subjunctive statement expressing something contrary to fact, as in

   if she had hurried she would have caught the bus

Other Word Forms

• counterfact noun
• counterfactually adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of counterfactual¹

First recorded in 1945–50; counter- + factual

Example Sentences

Another counterfactual: Absent regime change in 2003, Iraqis wouldn’t have voted in last week’s parliamentary elections.

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He repeatedly invokes counterfactual arguments to insist that without guns there would have been no Industrial Revolution.

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It’s a choice that holds up well against a counterfactual life given over to hobbies and travel.

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I think an oligarch class is going to deliver us a combination of both, where the AI will not only create reliance on it but give us bad, counterfactual information about important issues.

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That effacement tries to create a counterfactual absurdity.

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