1
as in theoretical
dealing with or expressing a quality or idea
she has a notional understanding of romantic love but no actual experience of being in love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
your computer's "visits" to various parts of cyberspace are entirely notional—you stay put and the Web pages come to you
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of notional
As reported by Rolling Stone, early buyers raked in $6.6 billion in profits, while many other traders collectively lost $2 billion in actual or notional losses, as per Chainalysis data findings.
—
Tonya M. Evans, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
These professional traders have net sold global equities for six weeks in a row, with last week’s notional de-grossing amount reaching the largest level since July, according to data from Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2025
Fine and rare whisky is now a notional financial construct.
—New Atlas, 4 Mar. 2025
There can’t be a postmortem after most league matches that says only major surgery will solve things sometime in a notional future.
—Andy Mitten, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
Tonya M. Evans, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025
These professional traders have net sold global equities for six weeks in a row, with last week’s notional de-grossing amount reaching the largest level since July, according to data from Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2025
Fine and rare whisky is now a notional financial construct.
—New Atlas, 4 Mar. 2025
There can’t be a postmortem after most league matches that says only major surgery will solve things sometime in a notional future.
—Andy Mitten, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for notional
Adjective
-
With a degree in theoretical mathematics and geophysical fluid dynamics, Kapnick saw herself as uniquely positioned to take on that challenge.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
31 May 2025
-
This recent study, which does just that, studied two theoretical Population III stars: one 13 times as massive as the sun, and one 200 times as massive.—
Robin George Andrews,
Smithsonian Magazine,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
Draw an imaginary line from the magnitude 2.3 star Merak, which forms the outer base of the 'bowl', through Dubhe, the star positioned as the 'pouring tip' of the asterism.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
20 May 2025
-
The mastermind behind covert action, Frank Wisner, never paused to consider that his cure for defeating an imaginary worldwide communist conspiracy was worse than the disease.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
Cage’s haunted delivery, contrasting powerfully with Knell’s anxious, terrified giggling, gives the scene a metaphysical kick.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
28 May 2025
-
The Hormone Monsters were soon joined by a full menagerie of metaphysical beings, from the Shame Wizard (David Thewlis) to the Depression Kitty (Jean Smart) to the Anxiety Mosquito (Maria Bamford).—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
The Scheme To carry out the fraud scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators created fictitious employers and lists of alleged employees—those lists were generated using personally identifiable information (PII) gleaned from thousands of identity theft victims.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
-
When Noah Wyle reunited with ER producers John Wells and R. Scott Gemmill to make HBO Max’s The Pitt, the plan was to offer a realistic portrayal of healthcare today through the lens of harried pros working in a fictitious Pittsburgh hospital.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
These abstract compositions at times appear to coalesce into visual language systems—in Dream, 2024, for example, repeating geometric motifs suggest the formation of glyphs—thereby establishing an intimate dialogue between mother and daughter that transcends delineations of space and time.—
Jessica Simmons-Reid,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
-
This confirmation turns what might seem like abstract statistics into something very real.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
What makes the book so extraordinary is that is functions as a de facto catalogue for a mythical Rolex museum, chock full of images of timepieces from every Rolex era, dating to 1908, three years after the brand was founded.—
Victoria Gomelsky,
Robb Report,
26 May 2025
-
The mythical creature is said to be the origin of the first Vietnamese people.—
Jenna Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
Awe emerges from encounters with vastness — whether physical, conceptual, or moral — that challenge our existing mental frameworks.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
-
The conceptual plan from Property Markets Group for the roughly nine-acre site at 520 Callahan Dr. calls for 1,000 apartments, 725 of which would be affordable, and incorporates a grocery store in the development.—
Tyler Williams,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 May 2025
Adjective
-
Set on the fictional New England island of New Penzance in the 1960s, Sam (Jared Gilman), an emotionally disturbed orphan, and Suzy (Kara Hayward), a sophisticated, yet troubled girl in the vein of Margot Tenenbaum, long to grow up and get away from the chaos that surrounds them.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
30 May 2025
-
For decades, shows have featured fictional, in-universe flicks — but that tradition has taken on new dimensions in our postmodern, ever-more-self-reflexive era.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
29 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Notional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notional. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share