notional
adjective
no·tion·al
ˈnō-sh(ə-)nəl 
1
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
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
Apple, which was down 9% on Thursday experienced the second largest notional loss in the market's history.
—
Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Shares were trading at around $19 per share Wednesday morning, putting the notional value of the trust’s position at more than $2 billion.
—Jesse Pound, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025
The rest simply represents a notional figure — a four-year permission from the bloc for countries to borrow even more for military purposes out of their own national budgets.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Here’s an example of the strange role played by Argentina’s notional wide players.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
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Jj Kinahan, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Shares were trading at around $19 per share Wednesday morning, putting the notional value of the trust’s position at more than $2 billion.
—Jesse Pound, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2025
The rest simply represents a notional figure — a four-year permission from the bloc for countries to borrow even more for military purposes out of their own national budgets.
—Steven Erlanger, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Here’s an example of the strange role played by Argentina’s notional wide players.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for notional
Cite this Entry
“Notional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/notional. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.
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