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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of notional
The notional $1,000- $2,000 tariff-revenue checks may be comparable in dollar amount to Biden’s stimulus checks, but Covid dollars and today’s dollars are much different due to the high inflation that’s occurred in recent years, outpacing wage growth.
—
Nino Paoli, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
But Tianwen 3 needs to land even lower down, with the criteria being at least 9,840 feet (3,000 m) below notional sea level, according to a paper published in the journal Nature by scientists involved in the mission.
—Andrew Jones, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2025
The United States 3rd Marine Division executes a notional fire mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during a training exercise at Camp Hansen on Japan's Okinawa Island on July 28, 2025.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for notional
Nino Paoli, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
But Tianwen 3 needs to land even lower down, with the criteria being at least 9,840 feet (3,000 m) below notional sea level, according to a paper published in the journal Nature by scientists involved in the mission.
—Andrew Jones, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2025
The United States 3rd Marine Division executes a notional fire mission with the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System during a training exercise at Camp Hansen on Japan's Okinawa Island on July 28, 2025.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for notional
Recent Examples of Synonyms for notional
Adjective
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As with every cycle, some schools will benefit more than others from district realignment, but Carter said getting too wrapped up in theoretical scenarios doesn’t serve much purpose.—
Colby Gordon,
Austin American Statesman,
31 Jan. 2026
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Originally, this was a great mystery, as cosmic rays were known to be composed almost exclusively of protons, and the theoretical limit on a proton that traveled through intergalactic space should forbid such excessively high energies.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The bottom three stars can then be used to point the way to the Andromeda galaxy, by following an imaginary line from the 'base' of the stellar triangle up through the bright star Shedar and beyond, as shown in the finder map above.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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In demonstrating the technology to CalMatters, using an imaginary 56-year-old female patient who complained of trouble breathing, Scope asked several follow-up questions to drill down on her symptoms.—
Cal Matters,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Breaking down such a layered metaphysical concept with the relatively few words left in this review would be a fool’s errand, but suffice it to say that all of the math miraculously checks out.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
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The Jupe bros – Jacobi and big brother Noah (as the stage Hamlet), who are both going places – playing characters that reflect each other in a metaphysical way.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The frozen water also created a layer of ice on the floor, as well as an abstract-looking sculpture reaching up towards the ceiling.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
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Hejduk said that while artists’ abstract designs should be inspired by nature, there’s a lot of leeway .—
Beth Lipoff,
Kansas City Star,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This could even include being part of a role-play activity that is based on their favorite storyline, a nostalgic scene or even a fictional world.—
Ramsey Qubein,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Featuring Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen, the song finds each artist inhabiting a specific member of the landowning (fictional) McArthur family.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The conceptual genius has found a way to turn Los Angeles into a movie character too!—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2026
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Dedar Milano’s Abstract Newness Dedar Milano’s 2026 collection of fabrics embraced pure abstraction and fresh conceptual ideas.—
Sofia Celeste,
Footwear News,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Corridors are bedecked in vivid wallpaper with oversized flora and animals, real and mythical, and the hotel’s art collection that meets your eye around every corner is a go-for-broke assemblage of everything from old-world oils to ambitious mixed media and 20th-century American photography.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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Buddhist Symbolism And Pop-Culture Surprises Even the walk to the temple’s main hall, surrounded by a watery moat, is a mythical spectacle.—
Vicky Smith,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Notional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notional. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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