counterfactual
adjective
coun·ter·fac·tu·al
ˌkau̇n-tər-ˈfak-chə-wəl 
-chəl,
-shwəl,
-chü-əl
: contrary to fact
counterfactual assumptions
Examples of counterfactual in a Sentence
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In our counterfactual future, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in South America’s southern cone, so close to Antarctica, have to adapt to some of the harshest effects of the widening hole in the ozone.
—
Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Now that Warner has chosen Paramount, that counterfactual vanishes.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2026
This is the problem of trying to determine a counterfactual case.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 31 Dec. 2025
Health care ethicists, for example, use this kind of counterfactual reasoning to evaluate harm and benefit, asking how a patient would have fared without an intervention.
—Jen Zamzow, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
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Big Think, 31 Mar. 2026
Now that Warner has chosen Paramount, that counterfactual vanishes.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2026
This is the problem of trying to determine a counterfactual case.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes.com, 31 Dec. 2025
Health care ethicists, for example, use this kind of counterfactual reasoning to evaluate harm and benefit, asking how a patient would have fared without an intervention.
—Jen Zamzow, The Conversation, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/counterfactual. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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