| Main Entry: | theoretical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hypothetical |
Synonyms: |
abstract, academic, analytical, as a premise, assumed, codified, conjectural, contingent, formalistic, formularized, general, ideal, idealized, ideational, ideological, imaginative, impractical, in the abstract, in theory, instanced, intellectual, logical, metaphysical, notional, on paper, pedantic, philosophical, postulated, presumed, problematical, pure, quixotic, speculative, suppositional, tentative, transcendent, transcendental, unearthly, unproved, unsubstantiated, vague |
| Notes: | empirical describes results determined by experiment and observed behavior or facts; theoretical describes results that are based on guesswork or hypothesis - and pragmatic is contrasted with theoretical on the grounds that the former proceeds from what is demonstrably practical, the latter from conjecture |
Antonyms: |
certain, definite, factual, proven, real |
| Main Entry: | academic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | relating to theories, philosophy |
Synonyms: |
abstract, closet, conjectural, formalistic, hypothetical, notional, speculative, theoretical |
Antonyms: |
ordinary, plain, practical, simple |
| Main Entry: | conjectural |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | speculative |
Synonyms: |
academic, assumed, doubtful, figured, guessing, guesstimated, hypothetical, on a hunch, on a long shot, putative, reputed, supposed, suppositional, suppositious, suppositive, surmised, surmising, suspect, tentative, theoretical, uncertain, unresolved |
Antonyms: |
certain, factual, proven, real, truthful |
| Main Entry: | dogmatic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | based on absolute truth |
Synonyms: |
a priori, as a matter of course, assertive, authoritarian, authoritative, axiomatic, by fiat, by natural law, by nature, canonical, categorical, deducible, deductive, derivable, doctrinaire, doctrinal, eternal, excathedra, formal, imperative, inevitable, on faith, oracular, orthodox, peremptory, positive, pragmatic, prophetic, reasoned, systematic, theoretical, unchangeable, unerring, unqualified |
Antonyms: |
ambiguous, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, fluctuating, indecisive, not positive, uncertain, vacillating |
| Main Entry: | doubtful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not believing |
Synonyms: |
agnostic, baffled, confused, discomposed, disconcerted, distracted, distrustful, disturbed, doubting, dubious, equivocal, faithless, faltering, flustered, hesitant, hesitating, in a quandary, in clouds, in dilemma, indecisive, irresolute, like doubting Thomas, lost, not following, of two minds, perplexed, puzzled, questioning, skeptical, suspicious, tentative, theoretical, troubled, uncertain, unconvinced, undecided, unresolved, unsettled, unsure, vacillating, wavering, without belief |
| Notes: | a person is capable of doubting, whereas a thing is dubitable; dubious, unlike doubtful, carries the connotation of suspicion |
Antonyms: |
believing, certain, confident, convinced, sure, trusting |
| Main Entry: | fundamental |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | basic, important |
Synonyms: |
axiological, axiomatic, basal, bottom, bottom-line, cardinal, central, constitutional, constitutive, crucial, elemental, elementary, essential, first, foundational, grass-roots, indispensable, integral, intrinsic, key, major, meat-and-potatoes, necessary, organic, original, paramount, primary, prime, primitive, primordial, principal, radical, requisite, rudimentary, significant, structural, substratal, substrative, supporting, sustaining, theoretical, underived, underlying, vital |
Antonyms: |
additional, advanced, auxiliary, extra, minor, secondary, subordinate, trivial, unimportant |
| Main Entry: | hypothetical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | guessed, assumed |
Synonyms: |
academic, assumptive, casual, concocted, conditional, conjecturable, conjectural, contestable, contingent, debatable, disputable, doubtful, equivocal, imaginary, imagined, indefinite, indeterminate, postulated, presumptive, presupposed, pretending, problematic, provisory, putative, questionable, refutable, speculative, stochastic, supposed, suppositional, suppositious, suspect, theoretic, theoretical, uncertain, unconfirmed, vague |
Antonyms: |
calculated, confirmed, factual, measured, proved, proven, real, reliable, truthful |
| Main Entry: | ideal |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | conceptual; impractical |
Synonyms: |
Utopian, abstract, chimerical, dreamlike, extravagant, fanciful, fictitious, high-flown, hypothetical, imaginary, in the clouds, intellectual, ivory-tower, mental, mercurial, notional, out-of-reach, quixotic, theoretical, transcendent, transcendental, unattainable, unearthly, unreal, visionary |
Antonyms: |
actual, common, material, practical, pragmatic |
| Main Entry: | imaginary |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fictitious, invented |
Synonyms: |
abstract, apocryphal, apparitional, assumed, chimerical, deceptive, delusive, dreamed-up, dreamlike, dreamy, fabulous, fancied, fanciful, fantastic, fictional, figmental, fool's paradise, hallucinatory, hypothetical, ideal, illusive, illusory, imaginative, imagined, legendary, made-up, mythological, nonexistent, notional, phantasmal, phantasmic, quixotic, shadowy, spectral, supposed, supposititious, theoretical, trumped up, unreal, unsubstantial, visionary, whimsical |
Antonyms: |
existing, factual, genuine, physical, real, substantial, true |
| Main Entry: | impractical/impracticable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unrealistic |
Synonyms: |
abstract, absurd, chimerical, idealistic, illogical, impossible, impracticable, improbable, inapplicable, inefficacious, infeasible, inoperable, irrealizable, ivory-tower, no-go, nonfunctional, nonviable, not a prayer, otherworldly, out of the question, quixotic, romantic, speculative, starry-eyed, theoretical, unattainable, unbusinesslike, unfeasible, unreal, unserviceable, unusable, unwise, unworkable, useless, visionary, wild, won't fly |
Antonyms: |
practicable, practical, probable, realistic, reasonable, tenable, viable |