1
as in theoretical
dealing with or expressing a quality or idea
she has a notional understanding of romantic love but no actual experience of being in love
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imaginary
not real and existing only in the imagination
your computer's "visits" to various parts of cyberspace are entirely notional—you stay put and the Web pages come to you
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of notional
Meta's notional short interest has soared 75%, or $11 billion, so far in 2025, S3 said in a note Monday.
—
Pia Singh,yun Li, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2025
The works were notional pastiches of real-world desperation.
—Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Investor sentiment surrounding bitcoin has spiked recently as the total notional interest in futures tied to this digital currency has climbed, reaching an all-time high over the last several days, according to market analyst Greg Magadini.
—Charles Lloyd Bovaird Ii, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Although physicists have good reasons to believe that certain seemingly stable subatomic particles could contribute to this notional effect by decaying over time, this process is thought to be far too slow to account for DESI’s observations.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
Pia Singh,yun Li, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2025
The works were notional pastiches of real-world desperation.
—Glenn Adamson, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Investor sentiment surrounding bitcoin has spiked recently as the total notional interest in futures tied to this digital currency has climbed, reaching an all-time high over the last several days, according to market analyst Greg Magadini.
—Charles Lloyd Bovaird Ii, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
Although physicists have good reasons to believe that certain seemingly stable subatomic particles could contribute to this notional effect by decaying over time, this process is thought to be far too slow to account for DESI’s observations.
—Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for notional
Adjective
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Doorman highlights more recent scholarship that argues that this is an oversimplification of what were larger theoretical differences between the movement’s two founders.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
15 Oct. 2025
-
The York study is theoretical, rather than observation-based.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Now draw an imaginary line diagonally through the Dipper's bowl from Dubhe (the upper right star in the bowl) down through Phecda (the lower left star in the bowl) and extend that line downward about twice the distance between those two stars and that will bring you to the vicinity of Cor Caroli.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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While their mother is not in the picture, Judy seeks guidance from her boss, Alyson (Megan Mullally), and her imaginary friend, Alanis Morissette (voicing herself), who appears to her in the Northern Lights.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But in an Akan language, the notion that an object could exist as a bare substrate, stripped of properties—say, the idea of a stone, with its weight, texture, and color subtracted—is basically unintelligible; the metaphysical split between a thing and its properties isn’t naturally expressible.—
Lula Konner,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Oct. 2025
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Best Gifts for Pisces Dreamy Pisces are creative and spiritual, so a journal, art set, or metaphysical kit with all of the essentials for a seance is a great gift idea.—
Jessie Quinn,
StyleCaster,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Nicolas Cage was rumored to be interested in playing Charlie and his fictitious twin, Donald.—
Susan Orlean,
New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2025
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However fictitious, these uplifting moments are currently missing from our real-life news cycle.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Curved lines and block colors in shades of orange, yellow and blue create the image of an artist, framed by a border of abstract shapes.—
Suyin Haynes,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
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Her words are a reminder that the stakes are not abstract.—
Loree Sutton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Last year, moments included a violinist perched 15 feet in the air with a cascading 20-foot dress, a crew of mythic horsehead creatures, the Raven, the Jester, Cersei, and Arachnea.—
Jenny Adams,
Southern Living,
12 Oct. 2025
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His return to offense was almost mythic.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Huang Yong Ping, the founder of the movement, along with major conceptual artists such as Geng Jianyi, Yin Xiuzhen and Shi Yong, all fell under the spell of Fluxus and carved out a unique position for the cohort within the international avant-garde.—
Denni Hu,
Footwear News,
10 Oct. 2025
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Mothersbaugh, a conceptual artist and composer, co-founded the rock group DEVO and has scored 150 films, television shows, video games and hundreds of commercials through his multimedia company, Mutato Muzika.—
Kimberly Nordyke,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Then again, even the fictional boarding school for witches and wizards in the Harry Potter series did not have a production line like Barcelona’s academy.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
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The real John Laroche attended, as well as the fictional one, who was played by Chris Cooper (who later won an Oscar for his portrayal).—
Susan Orlean,
New Yorker,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Notional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notional. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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