hypothetical
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Based on or involving a hypothesis; supposed but not necessarily real or true: Used to describe something that is imagined or proposed for the sake of argument, discussion, or investigation, rather than being an established fact.
- Existing only as an idea or concept: Pertaining to a situation, entity, or condition that is possible but not yet proven or confirmed.
Noun:
- A hypothetical idea, statement, or scenario: A proposition or situation that is considered as a possibility or for the purpose of reasoning, often to explore its consequences.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- The scientist presented a hypothetical model to explain the phenomenon. (The model was proposed for discussion, not yet proven.)
- Let's consider a hypothetical case where we have unlimited resources. (We are imagining a scenario for discussion.)
- Noun:
- He posed an interesting hypothetical about the future of artificial intelligence. (He proposed a speculative idea for consideration.)
- We need to plan for various hypotheticals, not just the most likely outcome. (We need to consider different possible scenarios.)
Advanced Usage
- "Purely hypothetical": Used to emphasize that a statement or question is speculative and not based on current reality.
- My question is purely hypothetical; I'm not suggesting this will happen.
- "Hypothetical question": A question based on an imagined scenario rather than facts.
- It's a classic hypothetical question: "What would you do if you won the lottery?"
Variants and Related Words
- Hypothesis (n): A proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
- She formulated a hypothesis to test in her experiment.
- Hypothesize (v): To put forward as a hypothesis; to suppose.
- Researchers hypothesize that the treatment will be effective.
Synonyms
- Theoretical: Concerned with or involving the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application.
- Speculative: Engaged in, expressing, or based on conjecture rather than knowledge.
- Conjectural: Based on incomplete information; guesswork.
- Suppositional: Based on assumption rather than fact.
Antonyms
- Actual: Existing in fact; real.
- Confirmed: Established as true or definite.
- Proven: Demonstrated to be true or effective.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "For the sake of argument": Used to introduce a hypothetical situation to discuss its implications.
- For the sake of argument, let's assume your hypothetical is correct. What then?
- "In theory" vs. "In practice": This common contrast often involves a hypothetical ("in theory") being compared to reality ("in practice").
- In theory, the plan is flawless, but in practice, we face many hypothetical challenges we didn't foresee.
Adjective
- based primarily on surmise rather than adequate evidence
- theories about the extinction of dinosaurs are still highly conjectural
- the supposed reason for his absence
- suppositious reconstructions of dead languages
- hypothetical situation
Noun
- a hypothetical possibility, circumstance, statement, proposal, situation, etc.
- consider the following, just as a hypothetical