adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Of or relating to theory; abstract; not empirical.

   "We may look upon this figure as representing in section a theoretical wing-form, or aerofoil"

Adjective

1. 1
   concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations wordnet
2. 2
   concerned with theories rather than their practical applications wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

abstractacademicpurespeculativesupposititiousabstractive

Antonyms

All antonyms

activeactualexperientialpractical

Example

More examples

"This meeting is a waste of time. Everybody is just talking in vague theoretical terms."

Etymology

From Middle English theorothycall, probably from Latin theōrēticus + -al, from Ancient Greek θεωρητικός (theōrētikós).

Related phrases

game-theoreticalgraph-theoreticalgroup theoreticalnumber-theoreticaloptimality theoreticalpre-theoreticalqueer theoreticalring theoreticalring-theoreticalset-theoreticaltheoretical keytheoretical oxygen demand

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