counterfactual
adjective
coun·ter·fac·tu·al
ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈfak-chə-wəl 
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü-əl
: contrary to fact
counterfactual assumptions
Examples of counterfactual in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Health care ethicists, for example, use this kind of counterfactual reasoning to evaluate harm and benefit, asking how a patient would have fared without an intervention.
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Jen Zamzow, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
In Dark Matter, a parallel-universe version of Chicago as a desolate wasteland is more obviously counterfactual—and thus less uncanny—than a parallel universe in which the main character’s wife had not given up her career as an artist to have children.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
Such speculations can be amusing and interesting but, like much counterfactual history, they cannot be tested.
—Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
What-If Tool, counterfactual evaluation for outcome assessment and outcome bias assessment.
—Trushant Mehta, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
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Jen Zamzow, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
In Dark Matter, a parallel-universe version of Chicago as a desolate wasteland is more obviously counterfactual—and thus less uncanny—than a parallel universe in which the main character’s wife had not given up her career as an artist to have children.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
Such speculations can be amusing and interesting but, like much counterfactual history, they cannot be tested.
—Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
What-If Tool, counterfactual evaluation for outcome assessment and outcome bias assessment.
—Trushant Mehta, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterfactual. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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