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hypothetical

adjective

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hy·po·thet·i·cal | \ ˌhī-pə-ˈthe-ti-kəl

Definition of hypothetical

: involving or being based on a suggested idea or theory : being or involving a hypothesis : conjectural hypothetical arguments a hypothetical situation

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Examples of hypothetical in a Sentence

She described a hypothetical case to clarify her point. we talked about what we would do in various hypothetical emergencies

Recent Examples on the Web Biden trailed Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup in the state by 4 percentage points. — cleveland, "Sherrod Brown endorses Joe Biden for president," 7 Apr. 2020 In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup with Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential front-runner, the poll found Trump trailing 40% to 46%. — John Gage, Washington Examiner, "'Something may be changing in Florida': Trump polling dips in key swing state during coronavirus crisis," 6 Apr. 2020 In a hypothetical general election matchup, Biden narrowly topped Trump by 2 points (49%-47%), which is well within the poll's 3.5-percentage-point margin of error. — William Cummings, USA TODAY, "Poll: 15% of Sanders supporters will vote for Trump if Biden is nominee; 80% would back Biden," 29 Mar. 2020 His advisers pointed to polling at the time that showed former Vice President Joe Biden, the most prominent moderate Democrat in the 2020 field, was within the margin of error in hypothetical matchups with Mr. Trump. — Tarini Parti, WSJ, "Michael Bloomberg Ends Presidential Bid and Endorses Joe Biden," 4 Mar. 2020 And perhaps most importantly, polls continue to show Warren performing just as well as those candidates, if not better, in hypothetical general election matchups against Trump. — Kathleen Walsh, TheWeek, "The sidelining of Elizabeth Warren," 12 Feb. 2020 According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, Trump trails top Democrats in hypothetical general election matchups. — NBC News, "Trump the projected winner in Iowa's GOP caucuses," 4 Feb. 2020 And Biden, who outperforms his rivals in hypothetical head-to-head matchups against Trump, is viewed by many as the Democrat with the best chance in November. — Philip Elliott / Iowa City, Time, "Iowans Aren't Thrilled About Joe Biden. But They May Be Ready to Settle For Him.," 30 Jan. 2020 The strength of his political capital is borne out in a hypothetical 2022 matchup against Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the poll finds. — Washington Post, "Could deep-blue Maryland elect Republican Larry Hogan to the U.S. Senate?," 18 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hypothetical.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.