as in erroneous
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Recent Examples of counterfactual
The polio vaccines prevented 29 million cases of paralytic polio between 1960 and 2021, compared with a counterfactual world with no vaccines, according to researchers’ estimates.
—
Soph Warnes, CNN, 2 Feb. 2025
The former calls for a counterfactual view of how testing works; the latter calls for political will and policy ideas not currently in evidence.
—Peter Greene, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
From those counterfactual questions, the adult Roth spun a tour de force of memory and history.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
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
Soph Warnes, CNN, 2 Feb. 2025
The former calls for a counterfactual view of how testing works; the latter calls for political will and policy ideas not currently in evidence.
—Peter Greene, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
From those counterfactual questions, the adult Roth spun a tour de force of memory and history.
—New York Times, 8 July 2024
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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It must also be said that, for all the lamenting of the Netherlands’ failure to win, West Germany — and Muller — were robbed of a clear goal in the second half due to an erroneous offside flag.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
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On Thursday, an erroneous report of a man with a gun sent two Boulder schools into lockdown.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Claims that the school was not cooperating with its student groups are untrue, university officials said, and the event will take place at Desert Financial Arena at no cost to students or their organizations.—
Helen Rummel,
AZCentral.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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But getting anything positive said about my work or any defense against untrue attacks was almost impossible.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
IndyStar,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Officers making contact with Hyatt noted an odor of intoxicants, staggering gait, confusion and illogical, untruthful responses to questions, according to the motion.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
18 Aug. 2025
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The deficient vice of integrity is being fake, untruthful, inconsistent, unprincipled, and manipulative.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
17 July 2025
Adjective
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Any thought of stability is illusory; no patch of molecules dances in isolation.—
Joseph Howlett,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
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Preparation for the Next Life is being released in a moment of strife and fever-pitch arguments about the American Dream — its perils and illusory qualities especially for those who have migrated to a country so primed on their exploitation.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The mockumentary about a fictitious paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania aired from 2005 to 2013.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
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The bad news about this fictitious mountainside hole-in-the-wall?—
Tim McGovern,
PEOPLE,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The film stages its riot of activity as hard-nosed honesty, but its portrait is ultimately as ginned-up and inexact as the fictional news broadcast’s lurid prying.—
Richard Lawson,
IndieWire,
5 Sep. 2025
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That medicine is an inexact science.—
Polly Atkin
August 26,
Literary Hub,
26 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Convenience can be seductive, but in oncology, where the margin for error is minute, the cost of error, or incomplete or inaccurate information, is disastrous.—
Anna Forsythe,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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Patel is facing criticism for the usage of his social media account to announce inaccurate information about Kirk's murder, his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and for the firings of veteran agents.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Trump has initiated a flurry of defamation lawsuits against media companies, accusing them of false or misleading coverage.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
16 Sep. 2025
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In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Hinton challenged the optimistic visions promoted by Silicon Valley leaders, suggesting that much of the upbeat narrative about AI’s societal benefits is, at best, misleading.—
Tim Bajarin,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfactual. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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