conceptual

adjective

con·​cep·​tu·​al kən-ˈsep-chə-wəl 

-chü-əl,

kän-,

-chəl,

-shwəl

: of, relating to, or consisting of concepts

conceptual thinking

the project's conceptual and technical hurdles

conceptual designs

conceptuality

kən-ˌsep-chə-ˈwa-lə-tē 

-shə-;

-chü-ˈa-

-shü-

noun

conceptually adverb

Synonyms

• theoretical
• theoretic
• metaphysical
• abstract

Examples of conceptual in a Sentence

The plans have both conceptual and practical difficulties.

conceptual thinking is often the most demanding kind of mental activity

Recent Examples on the Web

Even within the central nervous system, there was a conceptual hierarchy with the brain controlling the spinal cord. —Sara Giordano, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025

Pettman’s book might best be read as comfort for the ghosted, providing a conceptual framework and a history of the idea. —Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025

Project to project, the two endeavor to build conceptual through lines, referencing past successes without resting on repeats. —Sam Cochran, Architectural Digest, 3 Sep. 2025

By an almost impossible conceptual leap, the distant myth of the poem becomes a foreshadowing and a prophecy of events that were, from Virgil’s own historical vantage point, already in the past. —Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin conceptualis of thought, from Late Latin conceptus act of conceiving, thought, from Latin concipere — see concept entry 1

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing conceptual

• conceptual art

Medical Definition

conceptual

adjective

con·​cep·​tu·​al kən-ˈsep-chə(-wə)l, kän-, -ˈsepsh-wəl 

: of, relating to, or consisting of concepts

conceptually adverb