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Recent Examples of counterfactual
Such speculations can be amusing and interesting but, like much counterfactual history, they cannot be tested.
—
Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
In an era where many of the thought-leaders and decision-makers in our global society refuse to accept the actual facts of reality, and instead argue from a counterfactual position that supports their preferred narrative, this isn’t just a problem for practicing scientists.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 13 Aug. 2025
Ferguson, who has published a collection of counterfactual histories, is an outlier among academics.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Apparently getting an intrinsic reward for others’ wellbeing will take coordination only so far, without counterfactual reasoning to tell you if your actions are directly responsible for others’ behavior.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2019
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025
In an era where many of the thought-leaders and decision-makers in our global society refuse to accept the actual facts of reality, and instead argue from a counterfactual position that supports their preferred narrative, this isn’t just a problem for practicing scientists.
—Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 13 Aug. 2025
Ferguson, who has published a collection of counterfactual histories, is an outlier among academics.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
Apparently getting an intrinsic reward for others’ wellbeing will take coordination only so far, without counterfactual reasoning to tell you if your actions are directly responsible for others’ behavior.
—Matthew Hutson, IEEE Spectrum, 17 June 2019
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterfactual
Adjective
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Congress foolishly downsized that number in the 1980s and ’90s on the erroneous belief that more doctors would encourage unnecessary health care consumption.—
Betsy McCaughey,
Boston Herald,
8 Feb. 2026
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Civilians misidentified as undercover officers have been chased by anti-ICE mobs in public, even while the victims were going about their daily lives, based on erroneous reporting from fellow ICE monitors.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The image and the rhetoric are not only unfair but untrue, said Marlene.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan. 2026
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There is a really harmful and untrue stereotype that bisexual men are actually just gay men.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
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The search led her to a nearby house — and into a complicated situation involving several untruthful children and their parents.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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These images are interwoven with letters to an ambiguous, ageless, and perhaps illusory recipient.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
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Put another way, the self can be both illusory and real, or real enough.—
Michael Pollan,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Comulate also invented a fictitious insurance agent named Jordan Bates, who purported to work for PBC and who interacted with Applied Systems salespeople through email (with a Phoenix Benefits email domain) to create a customer account on Applied’s Epic.—
John Hyatt,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Developing quarterbacks in the NFL always has been an inexact science, with mixed results each season for almost every team.—
D. Orlando Ledbetter,
AJC.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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Kikuchi and Imai are an inexact comparison.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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If inaccurate or misleading information is introduced to a Wikipedia article, however, it can easily be challenged in the article’s associated discussion page, where edit histories are logged.—
Imogen West-Knights,
The Dial,
10 Feb. 2026
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Notably, the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund claimed on its tax forms to have only transferred funds to 501(c)(3) organizations, a statement that critics say appears to be inaccurate given its transfer to the 501(c)(4) Bright Future Fund.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In my opinion, this was very misleading because there was no mention of what levels of fertilizer used would cause these outcomes.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
14 Feb. 2026
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Government officials have defended officers’ actions as necessary and justified, while giving misleading or false accounts of some clashes.—
Natasha Korecki,
NBC news,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfactual. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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