DEFINITIONS

hypothetical

[ hahy-puh-thet-i-kuhl ]
/ ˌhaɪ pəˈθɛt ɪ kəl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR hypothetical ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective Also hy·po·thet·ic (for defs 1–4).

assumed by hypothesis; supposed: a hypothetical case.
of, pertaining to, involving, or characterized by hypothesis: hypothetical reasoning.
given to making hypotheses.
Logic.
  1. (of a proposition) highly conjectural; not well supported by available evidence.
  2. (of a proposition or syllogism) conditional.

noun

a hypothetical situation, instance, etc.: The Secretary of Defense refused to discuss hypotheticals with the reporters.

Content related to hypothetical

What Is The Difference Between “Might” And “May”?May expresses likelihood while might expresses a stronger sense of doubt or a contrary-to-fact hypothetical. The difference in degree between “You may be right” and “You might be right” is slight but not insignificant: if I say you may be right about something, there is a higher degree of probability that you are right about it than if I say you might be right about something. Example: You think Einstein is the most brilliant physicist who …
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How Do You Write In The Subjunctive Mood?The subjunctive mood is a way of talking about unreal or conditional situations. You can also use it to describe desires, wishes, needs, or intentions. You’ll often see it as the format for idioms and expressions. Unreal Situations The most common use of the subjunctive mood to express imaginary or hypothetical situations. It’s often used in if clauses. To show the subjunctive mood, you should …
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Words related to hypothetical

alleged, apparent, conjectural, hypothetical, inferential, likely, presumptive, suppositional, suppositious, supposititious, suppositive, asserted, presumed, purported, abstract, academic, analytical, assumed, contingent, general

Words nearby hypothetical

hypothermal, hypothermia, hypothesis, hypothesis testing, hypothesize, hypothetical, hypothetical imperative, hypothetico-deductive, hypothetico-deductive method, hypothrombinemia, hypothymia

Origin of hypothetical

1580–90; < Greek hypothetik(ós) supposed (hypo- hypo- + the- put (base of tithénai to put, do1) + -tikos -tic) + -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM hypothetical

hy·po·thet·i·cal·ly, adverbun·hy·po·thet·i·cal, adjectiveun·hy·po·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hypothetic

British Dictionary definitions for hypothetic

hypothetical

hypothetic

/ (ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkəl) /

adjective

having the nature of a hypothesis
assumed or thought to exist
logic another word for conditional (def. 4)
existing only as an idea or concepta time machine is a hypothetical device

Derived forms of hypothetical

hypothetically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012