notional

adjective

no·​tion·​al ˈnō-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: theoretical, speculative

2

: existing in the mind only : imaginary

3

: given to foolish or fanciful moods or ideas

4

a

: of, relating to, or being a notion or idea : conceptual

b(1)

: presenting an idea of a thing, action, or quality

has is notional in he has luck, relational in he has gone

(2)

: of or representing what exists or occurs in the world of things as distinguished from syntactic categories

notionality

ˌnō-shə-ˈna-lə-tē 

noun

notionally

ˈnō-sh(ə-)nə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• abstract
• conceptual
• ideal
• ideational
• metaphysical
• theoretical
• theoretic

Examples of notional in a Sentence

The notional earnings of the company were close to the actual ones.

she has a notional understanding of romantic love but no actual experience of being in love

Recent Examples on the Web

The works were notional pastiches of real-world desperation. —Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 1 June 2025

Investor sentiment surrounding bitcoin has spiked recently as the total notional interest in futures tied to this digital currency has climbed, reaching an all-time high over the last several days, according to market analyst Greg Magadini. —Charles Lloyd Bovaird Ii, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

Also at the end of the first quarter, Tepper owned put options with a notional value of $2.5 billion against the SPDR S & P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF (SPYX), the filing revealed. —Yun Li, CNBC, 16 May 2025

Furthermore, these cosmic close calls might be best understood using concepts derived from string theory—a notional theory of everything that posits that all of nature is fundamentally composed of countless, wriggling subatomic strings. —Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 13 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for notional

• motional
• devotional
• emotional
• promotional
• unemotional