as in theoretical
dealing with or expressing a quality or idea
conceptual thinking is often the most demanding kind of mental activity
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Recent Examples of conceptual
Many Evanstonians favor increasing the housing supply in theory, but opposition quickly surfaces when developers attempt to turn the conceptual into reality.
—
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Train them to think in terms of frameworks, repeatable models, and conceptual tools.
—Rhea Wessel, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The Butthole Surfers—their name, high jinks, and toilet paper stagecraft aside—were a rigorous, conceptual band.
—Pat Blashill, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
Slaying the Antihydra and its brethren will require conceptual breakthroughs in pure mathematics.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceptual
The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
Train them to think in terms of frameworks, repeatable models, and conceptual tools.
—Rhea Wessel, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
The Butthole Surfers—their name, high jinks, and toilet paper stagecraft aside—were a rigorous, conceptual band.
—Pat Blashill, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
Slaying the Antihydra and its brethren will require conceptual breakthroughs in pure mathematics.
—Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for conceptual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conceptual
Adjective
-
This novel scenario, of flash ionization in the early Universe, may turn out to be, like most new theoretical ideas, a red herring that only takes us to a possible world that never was.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
2 Sep. 2025
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The key is making the financial management real rather than theoretical.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Gleason, famously fascinated with UFOs and metaphysical theory, dreamed up the circular home that embodied futuristic ambition while showcasing old-fashioned craftsmanship.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
3 Sep. 2025
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Dao and qi are two metaphysical categories that persisted throughout the history of Chinese thought, with various interpretations of their unification and separation.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Domains require direct modeling of physical states instead of abstract prediction methods.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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These aren’t abstract concepts.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Conceptual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conceptual. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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