"counterfactual" meaning in All languages combined

See counterfactual on Wiktionary

Adjective [English]

IPA: /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/ [Canada], /ˌkaʊn.tə(ɹ)ˈfæk.tʃu.əl/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav
Etymology: From counter- + factual. Etymology templates: {{prefix|en|counter|factual}} counter- + factual Head templates: {{head|en|adjective}} counterfactual
  1. Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue. Synonyms: contrafactual Translations (contrary to the facts): paikkansapitämätön (Finnish), tosiasioiden vastainen (Finnish), kontrafaktuaalinen (Finnish), contrefactuel (French), kontrafaktisch (German), hamis (Hungarian), valótlan (Hungarian), kontrafaktuális (Hungarian), a tényeknek ellentmondó (Hungarian), controfattuale (Italian), contrafactual (Occitan), kontrfaktyczny (Polish), contrafatual (Portuguese), контрафактивный (kontrafaktivnyj) (Russian), contrafactual (Spanish), kontrafaktisk (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-counterfactual-en-adj-W-xNNMsA Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with counter-, Entries with translation boxes Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 21 17 31 2 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with counter-: 30 10 27 25 8 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 21 20 28 30 3 Disambiguation of 'contrary to the facts': 83 17
  2. Of or in comparison to a hypothetical state of the world.
    Sense id: en-counterfactual-en-adj-vfZx71-8 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 21 17 31 2 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 21 20 28 30 3
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: counterfactualism, counterfactualist, counterfactuality, counterfactualize, counterfactually, counterfactualness

Noun [English]

IPA: /ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/ [Canada], /ˌkaʊn.tə(ɹ)ˈfæk.tʃu.əl/ [UK] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav Forms: counterfactuals [plural]
Etymology: From counter- + factual. Etymology templates: {{prefix|en|counter|factual}} counter- + factual Head templates: {{en-noun}} counterfactual (plural counterfactuals)
  1. A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts.
    Sense id: en-counterfactual-en-noun-k~F7I4it Categories (other): English links with manual fragments, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with counter-, Entries with translation boxes Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 21 17 31 2 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with counter-: 30 10 27 25 8 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 21 20 28 30 3 Synonyms: counterfact, ;, misapprehension, ;, misconception, ;, misunderstanding, ;, falsehood, ;, misinformation
  2. A hypothetical state of the world, used to assess the impact of an action. Categories (topical): Alternate history
    Sense id: en-counterfactual-en-noun-4ClfXSbU Disambiguation of Alternate history: 20 21 19 34 7 Categories (other): English links with manual fragments, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms prefixed with counter-, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Occitan translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 29 21 17 31 2 Disambiguation of English terms prefixed with counter-: 30 10 27 25 8 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 21 20 28 30 3 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 25 22 18 32 2 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 25 23 17 34 1 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 21 20 22 33 4 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 21 19 21 35 4 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 21 20 22 34 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Hungarian translations: 21 20 22 32 5 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 21 20 21 35 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Occitan translations: 21 21 20 35 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 21 20 20 34 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 21 20 22 33 4 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 21 20 21 35 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 20 20 20 37 3 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 21 21 20 34 4
  3. (linguistics, philosophy) A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false. Categories (topical): Linguistics, Philosophy
    Sense id: en-counterfactual-en-noun-vOMhNwfr Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, philosophy, sciences
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: alternate history, alternate universe, alternative fact, what if, what-if

Inflected forms

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          "_dis1": "83 17",
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          "word": "paikkansapitämätön"
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          "_dis1": "83 17",
          "code": "fr",
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          "word": "contrefactuel"
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          "sense": "contrary to the facts",
          "word": "kontrafaktisch"
        },
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          "sense": "contrary to the facts",
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          "word": "valótlan"
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          "word": "a tényeknek ellentmondó"
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          "_dis1": "83 17",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "contrary to the facts",
          "word": "controfattuale"
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          "code": "oc",
          "lang": "Occitan",
          "sense": "contrary to the facts",
          "word": "contrafactual"
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          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "contrary to the facts",
          "word": "kontrfaktyczny"
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          "roman": "kontrafaktivnyj",
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          "word": "contrafactual"
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          "type": "quote"
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        {
          "ref": "2019 April 11, Marcel Theroux, “Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan review – intelligent mischief”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "The counterfactual 1982 of the novel plays variations on our historical record and contains clear allusions to the present.",
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        {
          "ref": "2004 September 5, Laura Miller, “Imagine”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Just as counterfactuals employ too much imagination to qualify as historical works, alternate history often labors under too great a load of artificial \"facts\" to take flight as fiction.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 September 1, Ross Douthat, “Iraq in the Long Run”, in New York Times, retrieved 2021-07-15:",
          "text": "We can spin out complicated counterfactuals that justify the Iraq invasion, and complicated counterfactuals that make it look even worse.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015 December 3, Lee Drutman, “Here's the real reason we don't have gun reform”, in Vox:",
          "text": "The implicit counterfactual — that these members would support gun control if not for the $1,000 they received from the NRA — seems unlikely to me.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016 February 11, Noah Berlatsky, quoting Neal Roese, “'What if?': Why we can't get enough of counterfactual shows”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Roese also says counterfactuals can serve emotional purposes. You can think about how things could have been worse, and so feel better about yourself, and grateful for where you are.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 May 14, Dashiell Young-Saver, “The Math of Ending the Pandemic: Exponential Growth and Decay”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Imagine a counterfactual in which we started relaxing restrictions at an even earlier time, just as the cases began to trend downward.",
          "type": "quote"
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        "(linguistics, philosophy) A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false."
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    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "counter",
        "3": "factual"
      },
      "expansion": "counter- + factual",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From counter- + factual.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "counterfactual",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Contrary to known or agreed facts; untrue."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Contrary",
          "contrary#English"
        ],
        [
          "known",
          "known"
        ],
        [
          "agreed",
          "agreed"
        ],
        [
          "fact",
          "fact"
        ],
        [
          "untrue",
          "untrue"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "contrafactual"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2014 September 15, Martin Gayford, “There's more to Ming than a vase [print version: 16 August 2014, pp. R6–R7]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review):",
          "text": "What would have happened if those great Chinese voyages [by Zheng He] had continued? It's one of those questions in counter-factual history about which it is impossible to be sure.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2019 April 11, Marcel Theroux, “Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan review – intelligent mischief”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "The counterfactual 1982 of the novel plays variations on our historical record and contains clear allusions to the present.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Of or in comparison to a hypothetical state of the world."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "comparison",
          "comparison"
        ],
        [
          "hypothetical",
          "hypothetical"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "world",
          "world"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌkaʊn.tə(ɹ)ˈfæk.tʃu.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "paikkansapitämätön"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "tosiasioiden vastainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "kontrafaktuaalinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "contrefactuel"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "kontrafaktisch"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "hamis"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "valótlan"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "kontrafaktuális"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "a tényeknek ellentmondó"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "controfattuale"
    },
    {
      "code": "oc",
      "lang": "Occitan",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "contrafactual"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "kontrfaktyczny"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "contrafatual"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "kontrafaktivnyj",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "контрафактивный"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "contrafactual"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "contrary to the facts",
      "word": "kontrafaktisk"
    }
  ],
  "word": "counterfactual"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms prefixed with counter-",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Hungarian translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Occitan translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "en:Alternate history"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "counter",
        "3": "factual"
      },
      "expansion": "counter- + factual",
      "name": "prefix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From counter- + factual.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "counterfactuals",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "counterfactual (plural counterfactuals)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "alternate history"
    },
    {
      "word": "alternate universe"
    },
    {
      "word": "alternative fact"
    },
    {
      "word": "what if"
    },
    {
      "word": "what-if"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A claim, hypothesis, or other belief that is contrary to the facts."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "claim",
          "claim"
        ],
        [
          "hypothesis",
          "hypothesis"
        ],
        [
          "belief",
          "belief"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "counterfact"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "misapprehension"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "misconception"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "misunderstanding"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "falsehood"
        },
        {
          "word": ";"
        },
        {
          "word": "misinformation"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English links with manual fragments",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2004 September 5, Laura Miller, “Imagine”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Just as counterfactuals employ too much imagination to qualify as historical works, alternate history often labors under too great a load of artificial \"facts\" to take flight as fiction.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010 September 1, Ross Douthat, “Iraq in the Long Run”, in New York Times, retrieved 2021-07-15:",
          "text": "We can spin out complicated counterfactuals that justify the Iraq invasion, and complicated counterfactuals that make it look even worse.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015 December 3, Lee Drutman, “Here's the real reason we don't have gun reform”, in Vox:",
          "text": "The implicit counterfactual — that these members would support gun control if not for the $1,000 they received from the NRA — seems unlikely to me.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2016 February 11, Noah Berlatsky, quoting Neal Roese, “'What if?': Why we can't get enough of counterfactual shows”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "Roese also says counterfactuals can serve emotional purposes. You can think about how things could have been worse, and so feel better about yourself, and grateful for where you are.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2021 May 14, Dashiell Young-Saver, “The Math of Ending the Pandemic: Exponential Growth and Decay”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Imagine a counterfactual in which we started relaxing restrictions at an even earlier time, just as the cases began to trend downward.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A hypothetical state of the world, used to assess the impact of an action."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "hypothetical",
          "hypothetical"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Linguistics",
        "en:Philosophy"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "linguistics",
          "linguistics"
        ],
        [
          "philosophy",
          "philosophy"
        ],
        [
          "conditional",
          "conditional"
        ],
        [
          "statement",
          "statement"
        ],
        [
          "clause",
          "clause"
        ],
        [
          "false",
          "false"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(linguistics, philosophy) A conditional statement in which the conditional clause is false."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "human-sciences",
        "linguistics",
        "philosophy",
        "sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌkaʊntɚˈfæktʃuəl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌkaʊn.tə(ɹ)ˈfæk.tʃu.əl/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/50/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-counterfactual.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "counterfactual"
}

Download raw JSONL data for counterfactual meaning in All languages combined (8.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.