notional

American  

[noh-shuh-nl] / ˈnoʊ ʃə nl /

adjective

1. pertaining to or expressing a notion or idea.

2. of the nature of a notion or idea.

   a notional response to the question.

3. abstract, theoretical, or speculative, as reflective thought.

4. not real or actual; ideal or imaginary.

   to create a notional world for oneself.

5. given to or full of foolish or fanciful ideas or moods.

6. Grammar.

   1. relating to the meaning expressed by a linguistic form.

   2. having full lexical meaning, in contrast to relational.

7. Semantics. belonging to a class of words that express clear concepts rather than relations between concepts; presentive.

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notional British  

/ ˈnəʊʃənəl /

adjective

1. relating to, expressing, or consisting of notions or ideas

2. not evident in reality; hypothetical or imaginary

   a notional tax credit

3. characteristic of a notion or concept, esp in being speculative or imaginary; abstract

4. grammar

   1. (of a word) having lexical meaning

   2. another word for semantic

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Other Word Forms

• nonnotional adjective
• notionality noun
• notionally adverb
• unnotional adjective
• unnotionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of notional

First recorded in 1590–1600; notion + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Anthropic’s dispute with the government is more than “just notional or just symbolic,” he said, and carries real risk for the company.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

The notional interest deduction saved Thermo Fisher nearly $1.2 billion in 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Yet in the 15 months since the ceasefire was signed, it has proved to be more notional for Lebanon, with Israeli warplanes and troops conducting well over 10,000 truce violations, according to the U.N.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

At Friday’s prices, that would mean these contracts alone have a notional value of more than $182 million, by MarketWatch’s calculations.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 17, 2026

In order to give particles any mass at all we have to introduce the notional Higgs boson; whether it actually exists is a matter for twenty-first-century physics.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson