We explain what it hypothetically means, the origin of the term and when it is used. Also, examples in sentences.
What does 'hypothetically' mean?
It is understood by hypothetical everything that happens at the level of assumptionsthat is, of hypotheses, so that talking about something hypothetically means that you are simply imagining it and evaluating it mentally, that It is not a statement, but a proposal, a possibilitya hypothesis that must be tested in real life.
The words hypothetically and hypothetically derive from the Greek word hypothesiscomposed of the voices hypo– (“under”) and thesis (“proposition”). Thus, in a figurative sense, a hypothesis is something that is “placed underneath”, that is, that is not really “placed”, as if it occupied a tentative place, yet to be tested.
This occurs in the same sense in which something is supposedsince this last word comes from the Latin voices sub- (“below”) and positus (“position”). The hypothetical, then, is something that does not yet take its place, but could do so: something that requires verification or that is handled on a purely speculative level.
Thus, when we say that something happens hypothetically, we are saying that it did not really happen, but that it could, or that we are simply evaluating the possibility of it happening.
For example, if we mentally evaluate what would happen if a certain politician won the election, we are thinking about a hypothetical government, that is, we are thinking hypothetically. Its meaning is more or less the same as “supposedly”, “possibly”, “intendedly”, or even “in theory”.
Let's look at some examples of sentences with this word:
- Once the virus is isolated, we could hypothetically synthesize a vaccine.
- Hypotheticallybuying a lot of lottery numbers makes winning the jackpot more likely.
- It would be easier for a country that invests in science and technology to industrialize, hypothetically.
- Even if, hypotheticallywe lose the next game, we will continue in second place in the championship.
Continue with: Metaphorically
References
- “Hypothetical” in the Dictionary of the Language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Hypothetical” in Wiktionary.
- “Etymology of Hypothetical” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
