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Recent Examples of counterfactual
Such speculations can be amusing and interesting but, like much counterfactual history, they cannot be tested.
—
Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
In an era where many of the thought-leaders and decision-makers in our global society refuse to accept the actual facts of reality, and instead argue from a counterfactual position that supports their preferred narrative, this isn’t just a problem for practicing scientists.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 13 Aug. 2025
Ferguson, who has published a collection of counterfactual histories, is an outlier among academics.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Apparently getting an intrinsic reward for others’ wellbeing will take coordination only so far, without counterfactual reasoning to tell you if your actions are directly responsible for others’ behavior.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2019
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
In an era where many of the thought-leaders and decision-makers in our global society refuse to accept the actual facts of reality, and instead argue from a counterfactual position that supports their preferred narrative, this isn’t just a problem for practicing scientists.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 13 Aug. 2025
Ferguson, who has published a collection of counterfactual histories, is an outlier among academics.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Apparently getting an intrinsic reward for others’ wellbeing will take coordination only so far, without counterfactual reasoning to tell you if your actions are directly responsible for others’ behavior.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2019
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterfactual
Adjective
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Cubs and White Sox pitchers and catchers are working out in Arizona at the start of spring training, but unless Sox general manager Chris Getz says something erroneous again, nothing much is expected to happen until the Cactus League schedule begins Friday.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
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Congress foolishly downsized that number in the 1980s and ’90s on the erroneous belief that more doctors would encourage unnecessary health care consumption.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The writers don’t concoct some miraculous escape from judgment that would be untrue to the period.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Feb. 2026
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Falzone retired on his own, police chief says Carney and Campurciani later addressed various claims in the lawsuits, telling the Observer and WSOC the allegations were simply untrue.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Federal authorities announced an investigation Friday of two immigration officers who appeared to have made untruthful statements under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month.—
Hannah Schoenbaum,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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These images are interwoven with letters to an ambiguous, ageless, and perhaps illusory recipient.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
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Put another way, the self can be both illusory and real, or real enough.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Who wants to sit through a fictitious novelist’s clumsy drafts?—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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The committee requested that information after a congressional watchdog found last December that the enhanced premium tax credits were vulnerable to fraud, with auditors successfully obtaining subsidized coverage for multiple ‘fictitious’ applicants.—
Sophie Brams,
The Hill,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Developing quarterbacks in the NFL always has been an inexact science, with mixed results each season for almost every team.—
D. Orlando Ledbetter,
AJC.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Kikuchi and Imai are an inexact comparison.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Asked about now-unavailable data and information, a spokesman for Kennedy said the premise of the Associated Press’ inquiry was flawed and relied on selective and inaccurate characterizations.—
Mike Stobbe,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
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Heathcliff, too, benefits from some delightfully inaccurate outfitting.—
Madeline Hirsch,
InStyle,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In my opinion, this was very misleading because there was no mention of what levels of fertilizer used would cause these outcomes.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Feb. 2026
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Government officials have defended officers’ actions as necessary and justified, while giving misleading or false accounts of some clashes.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfactual. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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