notional

American  

[noh-shuh-nl] / ˈnoʊ ʃə nl /

adjective

1. pertaining to or expressing a notion or idea.

2. of the nature of a notion or idea.

   a notional response to the question.

3. abstract, theoretical, or speculative, as reflective thought.

4. not real or actual; ideal or imaginary.

   to create a notional world for oneself.

5. given to or full of foolish or fanciful ideas or moods.

6. Grammar.

   1. relating to the meaning expressed by a linguistic form.

   2. having full lexical meaning, in contrast to relational.

7. Semantics. belonging to a class of words that express clear concepts rather than relations between concepts; presentive.

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notional British  

/ ˈnəʊʃənəl /

adjective

1. relating to, expressing, or consisting of notions or ideas

2. not evident in reality; hypothetical or imaginary

   a notional tax credit

3. characteristic of a notion or concept, esp in being speculative or imaginary; abstract

4. grammar

   1. (of a word) having lexical meaning

   2. another word for semantic

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Other Word Forms

• nonnotional adjective
• notionality noun
• notionally adverb
• unnotional adjective
• unnotionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of notional

First recorded in 1590–1600; notion + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Lyon's three wickets in 20 deliveries – he also bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes – left England 207-6 chasing a notional target of 435.

From BBC

Levenson adds, “our notional couple best not have any student loans.”

From Los Angeles Times

Burry’s Scion Asset Management bought put options with a notional value of $187 million on Nvidia stock, a regulatory filing for the quarter ending Sept. 30 shows.

From Barron's

Mr. Rees’s book shows the messiness and fluidity of life in the ancient world, where hard borders were notional at best and where cultural identities overlapped.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’s long been running a notional portfolio he calls “All Asset No Authority,” which I’ve written about before and which consists of equal investments in seven different asset classes, one of which is gold bullion.

From MarketWatch