Semifactual

//ˌsɛmiˈfak(t)ʃʊəl// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A conditional with a false antecedent and a true consequent.
Adjective
  1. 1
    Only partly factual. not-comparable

    "Suppose you are given the semifactual assertion, "even if Nora had liked mathematics then she would have became^([sic]) a scientist" and then you find out that Nora did in fact become a scientist."

Example

More examples

"Suppose you are given the semifactual assertion, "even if Nora had liked mathematics then she would have became^([sic]) a scientist" and then you find out that Nora did in fact become a scientist."

Etymology

From semi- + factual. In the logic sense, introduced by Nelson Goodman.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.