hypothetical
Americanadjective
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assumed or entertained as a theoretical possibility, invented example, premise for argument’s sake, etc.; supposed.
In the hypothetical case that you miss your flight or it is delayed, you will need a contingency plan.
- Synonyms:
- speculative, theoretical, supposition, academic
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relating to or characterized by the use of assumptions for argument’s sake or of provisional, informed conjectures to guide investigation.
Science depends on hypothetical reasoning.
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Logic.
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(of a proposition) highly conjectural; not well supported by available evidence.
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(of a proposition or syllogism) conditional.
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tending to resort to theoretical assumptions, conditional propositions, invented examples, etc., especially unrealistic ones; speculative.
His stuff is fun to read, but he’s so hypothetical I can’t take him seriously.
Stop the worry spiral in your mind before your thoughts become too hypothetical.
noun
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hypotheticals
plural
adjective
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having the nature of a hypothesis
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assumed or thought to exist
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logic another word for conditional
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existing only as an idea or concept
a time machine is a hypothetical device
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hypothetical
First recorded in 1580–90; from Greek hypothetik(ós) “supposed” ( hypo- hypo- + the- “placed, put,” base of tithénai “to place, put, set”) + -tikos -tic ) + -al 1
Explanation
Everyone who has ever taken a science class knows the word "hypothesis," which means an idea, or a guess, that you are going to test through an experiment. A hypothetical is related to that. It means something based on an informed guess. Hypotheticals are fun. How would you do in a hypothetical arm-wrestling competition against your Grandma? There are people in the Pentagon whose jobs are to consider all kinds of hypotheticals––what if Luxembourg armed itself with nuclear weapons? What if France developed the ability to pelt Switzerland with cannons firing cheeses?
Vocabulary lists containing hypothetical
Argumentative Writing
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Words That Could Go Either Way: Synonyms for "Maybe"
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 6
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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.
See Examples For:
The debate has also been met with criticism from sceptics who say the focus on AI's hypothetical future risks distracting from more immediate concerns around the technology, such as its environmental impact.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
All of this rests on assumptions that the current technology, built on so-called large-language models, will develop into artificial general intelligence, a hypothetical computer system that surpasses human intelligence in all domains.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Where before we were hypothetically worried about these classes of misuse, I think we’ve moved away from hypothetical to real,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
The team first analyzes the problem in this hypothetical setting with infinitely many dimensions.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
Courtesy NASA. shapeType32lineWidth24130shapeType32lineWidth24130shapeType32lineWidth24130A hypothetical ice planet in the system of the Ring Nebula in Lyra.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
We're in the territory of hypotheticals and there are also questions around whether Sky will want to continue as a public service broadcaster after 2034 when ITV's licence expires.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
People who deal in hypotheticals and emotions are generally unswayed by facts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
And after a seventh-straight loss and a second straight season left spiraling, hypotheticals could only carry USC and its coach so far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026
As the hypotheticals posed by the justices multiplied, the doctrine began to drift from lived reality.
From Slate ● Jan. 8, 2026
SABIO, MARIA: Ved, please provide all hypotheticals relative to the following question: What repercussions would occur if Ridge Sabio traveled back in time to Red Knot, Delaware, in the 1990s and arrived safely?
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
