Hypothetically means supposing it were so, for the sake of argument. Hypothetically speaking, hypothetically, what if, purely hypothetically.
It is a way of raising something without owning it, which is why lawyers and negotiators use it constantly and why hearing it should make you listen harder. Purely hypothetically usually means the speaker has thought about it a great deal.
1adverbhypotheticallySupposing it were so, for the sake of argument.
“Hypothetically, if you won the lottery, what would you buy first?”
hypothetically is a hedge.
Ancient Greek
ὑποθετικός
English
hypothetical
English, today
hypothetically
From hypothetical + -ly. hypothetical comes from Ancient Greek ὑποθετικός.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA