Library / English Dictionary

THEORETICALLY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (adverb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

In theory; according to the assumed facts

Example:

on paper the candidate seems promising

Classified under:

Adverbs

Pertainym:

theoretical (concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations)

Sense 2

Meaning:

In a theoretical manner

Example:

he worked the problem out theoretically

Classified under:

Adverbs

Antonym:

empirically (in an empirical manner)

Pertainym:

theoretical (concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Models used experimentally or theoretically to study molecular shape, electronic properties, or interactions; includes analogous molecules, computer-generated graphics, and mechanical structures.

(Molecular Model, NCI Thesaurus)

Research concerning any factor or condition, exposure to which is theoretically susceptible to behavioral modification, but in which no actual behavioral work is being done (e.g., experimental studies on tobacco use, consumption of various dietary components, and exposure to many other environmental carcinogens).

(Behavior Research, Indirect, NCI Thesaurus)

The tickets were theoretically confined to members and their friends, but the latter is an elastic term, and long before eight o'clock, the hour fixed for the commencement of the proceedings, all parts of the Great Hall were tightly packed.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)