hypothetically

adverb

hy·​po·​thet·​i·​cal·​ly ˌhī-pə-ˈthe-ti-k(ə-)lē 

: by making an assumption for the sake of discussion or argument : in a hypothetical way

speaking hypothetically

In this lucid report … he uses genetic differences, maps, computer simulations and an analysis of linguistic changes in the world's languages to hypothetically reconstruct the mass migrations of people across continents since modern humans first appeared.

—Genevieve Stuttaford

We asked ourselves hypothetically: If the chairmen of the boards of these major tobacco companies walked in here today and said, "Okay, we're ready to do a deal," what did we want?

—Lewis H. Lapham

—used to suggest what is theoretically possible

Hypothetically, you could use a computer to synthesize a large number of harmonics, add them back together, and reproduce a sound similar to that of the bowed violin string.

—Dragan Huterer

Examples of hypothetically in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even, hypothetically, Hunter Biden could also make a plea for restitution, Vance said. —Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 27 May 2026

Cowen also asked the audience hypothetically, what else is there? —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 May 2026

The advantage that Republicans might hope to obtain by this November, could, hypothetically, grow even more if the Democrats did nothing before 2028. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 15 May 2026

So, hypothetically, if ENIC were to sell, the minorities could sell as well. —Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hypothetically

• apologetically
• photosynthetically
• phylogenetically
• aesthetically
• esthetically
• genetically
• kinetically
• phonetically
• poetically
• prophetically
• synthetically
• alphabetically