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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In solving an 80-year-old chemical mystery, the researchers have not only answered a long-standing theoretical question but also expanded the toolbox of modern chemistry.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Jan. 2026
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Beat writer Lauren Williams walks us through a few theoretical trades here.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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As players shoot around, Jake cradles a ball before blowing past an imaginary defender to hammer home a dunk.—
Mirin Fader,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
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At the opening, Natalie, bored and filled with loathing for her parents, flees her family home by retreating into imaginary worlds of vivid, eroticized violence.—
Erin Somers,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The real story is Latour’s encounter with the territory—transfigured, by Cather’s prose, into a metaphysical battleground and a sphinxlike witness.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
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Sirāt‘s central themes are deeply rooted in both metaphysical allegory and contemporary societal critique.—
Robert Lang,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Anyone who’s survived to 2026 knows the upper class’ fictitious fantasies still carry real, wretched consequences for the rest of us, but Season 4 plays out those ongoing scenarios to the nth degree, while condensing them into an appreciable narrative arc.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
11 Jan. 2026
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The series, which premiered on Netflix at the end of 2024, tells the story of the Buendía family over multiple generations and is set in the fictitious town of Macondo, Colombia, which the family founded.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 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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As the voice of Rumi, Ejae performed the lead vocals of all the songs for HUNTR/X, the movie's fictional k-pop girl group that moonlights as demon hunters who protect the world from soul-sucking monsters.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
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In the fictional story of the Shakespeare family, their family tragedy leads Shakespeare to write Hamlet.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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His most recent works, the Polar EP and the conceptual diptych Helios Rave Draft and Superfluid, continue his exploration of sound design as emotional and physical experience.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
12 Jan. 2026
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That is a conceptual challenge, or shortcoming, that can only be overcome with both some background knowledge on the works and a bit of meandering around the Golden Triangle neighborhood.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
12 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The veil seamlessly transitions into sculptural braids, and the almost mythical look was topped off with perfectly clear glass tips over her natural nails.—
Marci Robin,
Allure,
12 Jan. 2026
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The name Siren's Curse comes from the mythical sirens who reside in Lake Erie and lure sailors with their singing.—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Notional.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/notional. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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