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
This willingness or compulsion to present claims that are utterly counterfactual has set Trump apart from conventional candidates.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 14 Sep. 2024
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
This willingness or compulsion to present claims that are utterly counterfactual has set Trump apart from conventional candidates.
—Ron Elving, NPR, 14 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for counterfactual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterfactual
Adjective
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In numerous replies and posts, Grok wrote messaged that glorified Adolf Hitler, attached stereotypes to users with Jewish surnames and spread erroneous conspiracy theories about the role of Jewish people in government, commerce and media.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
10 July 2025
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Because of erroneous information on the website for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), a story published July 6 on Page A1 incorrectly reported that former San Jose police officer George Brown’s police license with the state had been taken off suspension.—
Bay Area News Group,
Mercury News,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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The Levine Cava administration said those claims were untrue.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
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For its part, the Department for Transport says this is untrue.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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The document discovery in those cases revealed that France had been untruthful during the NFLPA arbitration process.—
Chris Deubert,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2025
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During the trial, prosecutors showed videos of the multiple interviews Troconis had with law enforcement and accused her of being untruthful about Farber Dulos’ disappearance.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Despite the book’s suggestive title, the landscape is anything but illusory for Abbott, who grew up in Grosse Pointe and spent the first 18 years of her life there.—
Jim Ruland,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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Wells’s attempt to hold the two in balance relied on a division between art and politics, but that division is entirely illusory.—
Kamila Shamsie
June 20,
Literary Hub,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Further blurring fact from fiction is this latest approach of trying to capitalize on a TikTok viral moment by having a fictitious creator recite the words of a real creator.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
10 July 2025
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Senegal just ditched its plans for the singer’s multibillion-dollar smart city in the country, reminiscent of Marvel’s fictitious nation in its Black Panther franchise.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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The draft remains an inexact science, but the Cubs have a formula that has endured through regime changes and philosophical shifts.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
9 July 2025
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The Farmers' Almanac, distinct from the Old Farmer's Almanac, said weather forecasting, and long-range forecasting, in particular, remains an inexact science.—
Olivia Rose,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, though Republican leaders dismissed the projection as inaccurate.—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
4 July 2025
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And finding those homes proved challenging because many records were missing or inaccurate — some handwritten on notecards dating to the early 1900s.—
Michael Phillis,
Los Angeles Times,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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The same economists who believe in the same fallacious economic notions?—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
6 July 2025
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There might be a bigger market for these products, and more consumers might be immune to the fallacious argument that they’re overly processed, if more people were persuaded of the ills of factory farming.—
Kenny Torrella,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Counterfactual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterfactual. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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