hypothetically

Adverb

hypothetically (comparative more hypothetically, superlative most hypothetically)

1. In a hypothetical way; as a hypothesis.
   • He offered the proposition hypothetically.
   • Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Sunday that the President hypothetically could have shot the former FBI director to end the Russia investigation and not face prosecution for it while in office.2018 June 3, Veronica Stracqualursi and Dana Bash, “Giuliani to HuffPost: Trump could have ‘shot James Comey’ and not be prosecuted”, in CNN
2. Used to introduce a proposition to discussion without commitment to its truth.
   • Hypothetically, what would you say if I proposed marriage to you?
   • Hypothetically, Srinivasan suggests network states for people who eat specific diets (kosher, keto), for people who don’t like FDA regulation, for people who don’t like cancel culture, for people who want to live like Benedictine monks, for people who might want to limit internet use by putting...2024 February 5, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “Meet Me in the Eternal City”, in The Atlantic, →ISSN