notional

adjective

no·​tion·​al ˈnō-sh(ə-)nəl 

1

: theoretical, speculative

2

: existing in the mind only : imaginary

3

: given to foolish or fanciful moods or ideas

4

a

: of, relating to, or being a notion or idea : conceptual

b(1)

: presenting an idea of a thing, action, or quality

has is notional in he has luck, relational in he has gone

(2)

: of or representing what exists or occurs in the world of things as distinguished from syntactic categories

notionality

ˌnō-shə-ˈna-lə-tē 

noun

notionally

ˈnō-sh(ə-)nə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• abstract
• conceptual
• ideal
• ideational
• metaphysical
• theoretical
• theoretic

Examples of notional in a Sentence

The notional earnings of the company were close to the actual ones.

she has a notional understanding of romantic love but no actual experience of being in love

Recent Examples on the Web

There can’t be a postmortem after most league matches that says only major surgery will solve things sometime in a notional future. —Andy Mitten, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025

Many have notional timelines or resource constraints that are subject to renegotiation during the lifetime of an assignment. —Mark Settle, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

This is what Thadeus loves: a test of his store of poetic similes, even if, these days, his poetry-writing is notional. —Han Ong, The New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2025

The token has been highly volatile but appears to be worth billions of dollars of notional value to the Trump family. —Jesse Pound, CNBC, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for notional

• motional
• devotional
• emotional
• promotional
• unemotional