counterfactual

adjective

coun·​ter·​fac·​tu·​al ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈfak-chə-wəl How to pronounce counterfactual (audio)
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü-əl
: contrary to fact
counterfactual assumptions

Examples of counterfactual in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This willingness or compulsion to present claims that are utterly counterfactual has set Trump apart from conventional candidates. Ron Elving, NPR, 14 Sep. 2024 While Uber has disputed my findings on driver pay cuts and increasing profit margins, the company has declined to disclose relevant counterfactual data. Len Sherman, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024 Although her settings seem realistic enough, materially and socially, her dramas are almost like fairy tales, or seemingly counterfactual philosophical abstractions. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 28 June 2024 In his counterfactual history, the United States would have sought to keep China weak, poor, and peripheral. G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs, 11 Feb. 2022 See all Example Sentences for counterfactual 

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of counterfactual was in 1946

Dictionary Entries Near counterfactual

Cite this Entry

“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterfactual. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.

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