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
Since evolution is the conceptual foundation for all biology, this flawed perspective can hinder all biological and biomedical science.
—
Kevin Omland, The Conversation, 9 Feb. 2026
Diesel asks at the top of the spot (below), which shows footage of riders speeding through a conceptual rendering of the coaster — featuring vehicles that rotate along a course that also includes three inversions.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
The apartments, approved in March by city officials, would total 311 units in four buildings with four to five stories, according to conceptual plans.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 4 Feb. 2026
That schedule was ultimately stretched into a four-year process due to reshoots and shifting logistics, but the conceptual experiment held in Petsch’s view.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for conceptual
Kevin Omland, The Conversation, 9 Feb. 2026
Diesel asks at the top of the spot (below), which shows footage of riders speeding through a conceptual rendering of the coaster — featuring vehicles that rotate along a course that also includes three inversions.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Feb. 2026
The apartments, approved in March by city officials, would total 311 units in four buildings with four to five stories, according to conceptual plans.
—Tom Daykin, jsonline.com, 4 Feb. 2026
That schedule was ultimately stretched into a four-year process due to reshoots and shifting logistics, but the conceptual experiment held in Petsch’s view.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for conceptual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conceptual
Adjective
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Earlier theoretical work showed that combining spatial mode sorting with long-baseline interferometry could reach the true quantum limit for resolving two stars.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
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The firm’s Chapter 11 practice is intentionally selective, focusing on cases with realistic paths to confirmation rather than theoretical restructuring plans.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The general thrust of the changes were to de-melodramatize Salieri’s action and to focus more attention on his guilt and metaphysical torment.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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But, after Hume, liberals came increasingly to find even the barest invocation of metaphysical principles to be an embarrassment.—
Christopher Beha,
New Yorker,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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An abstract detail that looked almost like a tree branch carved its way across the neckline of the sheer dress.—
Meg Walters,
InStyle,
22 Feb. 2026
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Some considered the work abstract and dreamlike, while others went for high realism.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conceptual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conceptual. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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