hypothetically

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkli/ UK /ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a supposed or assumed way; for the sake of argument

Hypothetically, if you won the lottery, what would you do first?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a supposed or assumed... supposedly theoretically conceivablyspeculativelynotionally

Opposites

actually reallyfactually

Word family

Related forms hypothesis hypothetical hypothesize

Etymology

From hypothetical + -ly, ultimately from Ancient Greek hypothetikos ('conditional'), from hypothesis ('foundation, supposition'), from hypotithenai ('to put under, suppose'), from hypo ('under') + tithenai ('to put').

hypothesis la-lat tithenai Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

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Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# hypothetically

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkli
**IPA (UK):** ˌhaɪpəˈθɛtɪkli

## Meanings
1. in a supposed or assumed way; for the sake of argument

## Examples
- Hypothetically, if you won the lottery, what would you do first?

## Synonyms
- supposedly
- theoretically
- conceivably
- speculatively
- notionally

## Antonyms
- actually
- really
- factually

## Related Forms
- hypothesis
- hypothetical
- hypothesize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hypothesis
- Root: tithenai

## Etymology
From hypothetical + -ly, ultimately from Ancient Greek hypothetikos ('conditional'), from hypothesis ('foundation, supposition'), from hypotithenai ('to put under, suppose'), from hypo ('under') + tithenai ('to put').

## AI Etymology
hypothetically comes from hypothetical + -ly, ultimately from Ancient Greek hypothetikos ('conditional'), from hypothesis ('foundation, supposition'), from hypotithenai ('to put under, suppose'), from hypo ('under') + tithenai ('to put'). Morphologically, the ending is part of the etymology: the suffix is attached to the older base named in the history, producing a later English derivative. In present English, the adverb sense is "in a supposed or assumed way; for the sake of argument", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as hypothesis, hypothetical, and hypothesize. Its semantic neighborhood includes supposedly, theoretically, conceivably, and speculatively, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Ancient Greek hypothesis and Ancient Greek tithenai.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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hypothetically

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