COUNTERFACTUAL Synonyms: 58 Similar and Opposite Words

counterfactual

adjective

Definition of counterfactual

as in erroneous

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of counterfactual Mandatory frontier-model approval simultaneously fails the targeting, counterfactual durability, and enforceability tests. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 15 May 2026 In our counterfactual future, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in South America’s southern cone, so close to Antarctica, have to adapt to some of the harshest effects of the widening hole in the ozone. — Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for counterfactual

Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterfactual

Adjective

Interestingly, these erroneous memories became stable over time.

— Elizabeth A. Phelps, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
Generally, the courts are limited in overruling regulatory agencies unless a ruling was clearly erroneous.

— Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of erroneous

Adjective

Trump claims that Ukraine is responsible for high diesel prices, which is also untrue.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Malliaros refused to sign because the statement was untrue, the suit said, and instead required any agreement to state accurately that the competition remained ongoing at the time of the incident.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of untrue

Adjective

Those commitments can be withdrawn if Saab is untruthful with investigators or probation officials, commits another crime or otherwise violates the agreement.

— Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 15 Sep. 2026
However, subsequent video evidence led officials to claim that the officers involved had likely made untruthful statements about what happened.

— Paloma Chavez, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of untruthful

Adjective

His prayerful recognition of God’s supremacy and government of the universe refreshed his heart and lifted his thought above the human fears and limitations that plague an illusory, material sense of existence.

— The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Sep. 2026
For a while, these institutions appeared capable of operating without their founding cause, but that hope proved illusory.

— Faisal Devji, Time, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of illusory

Adjective

There have been 28 years between the two films, but in the narrative of the fictitious Owens sisters, only about 10 years should have passed.

— Danielle Pergament, Allure, 14 Sep. 2026
Inspectors have found hundreds of allegedly fictitious facilities, while at least 833 kitchens have been shut down for failing to meet hygiene and sanitation standards.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of fictitious

Adjective

De Anda contends that the warrant used to search her property contained false information, Josephson said, including inconsistent descriptions of conditions and grossly inaccurate estimates of the number of animals on the property.

— Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
By comparison, generative AI models—such as the large language models powering popular AI chatbots—generate outputs that can change every time and may also be inaccurate.

— Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of inaccurate

Adjective

A matter of distance and brightness The stars that compose the Triangle — Vega, Altair, and Deneb — lie at very unequal distances from us, so their apparent brightness can give a misleading impression of their true luminosity.

— Joe Rao, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026
Publishers don’t want irrelevant or misleading ads to appear on their media sources.

— Roman Vrublivskyi, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of misleading

Browse Nearby Words

counterevidence

counterfactual

counterfeit

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“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfactual. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of counterfactual

adjective

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