hypothetical Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a hypothetical possibility, circumstance, statement, proposal, situation, etc.
    • consider the following, just as a hypothetical
  2. adjective satellite based primarily on surmise rather than adequate evidence
    conjectural; supposititious; suppositious; suppositional; supposed; hypothetic; divinatory.
    • theories about the extinction of dinosaurs are still highly conjectural
    • the supposed reason for his absence
    • suppositious reconstructions of dead languages
    • hypothetical situation

WordNet

Hy`po*thet"ic, Hy`po*thet"ic*al adjective (Also<
  • Hypothetic
  • Hypothetical
)
Etymology
L. hypotheticus, Gr. : cf. F. hypothétique.
Definitions
  1. Characterized by, or of the nature of, an hypothesis; conditional; assumed without proof, for the purpose of reasoning and deducing proof, or of accounting for some fact or phenomenon.
    Causes hypothetical at least, if not real, for the various phenomena of the existence of which our experience informs us. Sir W. Hamilton.
    Hook. -- Hy`po*thet"ic*al*ly, adv. South.

Webster 1913