How to Use hypothetical in a Sentence

hypothetical

adjective
  • She described a hypothetical case to clarify her point.
  • Your life is not a hypothetical case study.
    — Tim Maurer, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Who would be most likely to snap him up in that hypothetical?
    — Jordan Bianchi, New York Times, 12 July 2025
  • And Billups, to cite that hypothetical, might do a great job.
    — Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 19 Mar. 2025
  • The prospect of spillover is not hypothetical.
    — Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025
  • At some hypothetical point, the drama around the show will be drowned out by the show itself.
    — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 1 Feb. 2017
  • That’s a hypothetical that isn’t close to far enough down the road to even consider.
    — Brendan Marks, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • This is no longer a hypothetical future of claims.
    — Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Of course, the string of reasons behind the mass deaths is all still hypothetical.
    — Popular Science, 18 Sep. 2020
  • The judge based the amount of the award on a hypothetical license fee that the party might have paid to use the song.
    — NBC News, 25 Oct. 2017
  • The worry, though hypothetical, is one that should not be dismissed out of hand.
    — Rory Smith, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Like the hypothetical beer case, this case against Walmart mocks the rule of law.
    — Michael I. Krauss, WSJ, 27 Dec. 2020
  • Or maybe this hypothetical never unfolds because one or both of these teams slips up in the next two weeks.
    — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 27 Nov. 2019
  • The real-world value of that head start is not hypothetical.
    — Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026
  • My fear is no longer hypothetical.
    — Monica Rodriguez-Aguilera, New York Daily News, 15 June 2026
  • The line from a hypothetical drink to a real syringe full of liquid is short.
    — Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 29 Jan. 2026
  • This shift is no longer hypothetical.
    — Ethan Stone, USA Today, 19 Jan. 2026
  • So our icebreaker for the show or within the show will be a hypothetical.
    — Okla Jones, Essence, 4 Dec. 2024
  • So the value of the options is more hypothetical than real at this point.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN, 10 July 2020
  • The risk is hypothetical, and Merck says it has not been borne out in its studies.
    — Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 24 Dec. 2021
  • This is love as a waking dream, love in verdant comfort, love in the hypothetical.
    — Bhanu Kapil Anne Boyer, New York Times, 4 May 2023
  • That is, and will be, one of the great hypothetical questions of this election cycle.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 Aug. 2023
  • Nobody will put that hypothetical scene in a bond prospectus.
    — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
  • One’s mind can run wild with what a hypothetical Martha Stewart setlist would look like.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 18 Apr. 2019
  • The takeoff zone is no longer hypothetical.
    — Christian Catalini, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
  • The catch is that those tools have to be applied to real decisions, not hypothetical ones.
    — Mark Murphy, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • Check out all of the hypothetical scenarios in the lyrics below.
    — Heran Mamo, Billboard, 5 Sep. 2019
  • The hypothetical doctor would be a governing body for the sport.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 11 May 2026
  • Snoop knocked that one out of the park as well, giving Hudson two hypothetical kisses, one on each cheek.
    — Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2024
  • But the answers for Ukraine are more hypothetical.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 28 Aug. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypothetical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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