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 of notional

• theoretical
• metaphysical
• abstract
• conceptual

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

Kalshi didn’t start offering sports wagers until January 2025; now those bets make up more than 80% of its notional volume when including parlays. — Dan Bernstein, Sportico.com, 28 July 2026

About 206 million SpaceX shares are now sold short, representing roughly 32% of the company's publicly tradable float and about $25 billion in notional bearish bets, according to estimates from S3 Partners. — Yun Li, CNBC, 21 July 2026

In June alone, the platform recorded nearly $11 billion in global monthly notional volume, largely driven by World Cup trading. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 17 July 2026

If your quarterly goal is to raise conversion and the biggest drop-off sits in checkout, then that flow should become your priority, not a notional footer redesign. — Polina Chebanova, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for notional

• motional
• devotional
• emotional
• promotional
• unemotional