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⇱ notional - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

notional

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈnəʊʃənəl/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(nō′shə nl)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
no•tion•al  (nō′shə nl),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. pertaining to or expressing a notion or idea.
  2. of the nature of a notion or idea:a notional response to the question.
  3. abstract, theoretical, or speculative, as reflective thought.
  4. not real or actual;
    ideal or imaginary:to create a notional world for oneself.
  5. given to or full of foolish or fanciful ideas or moods.
  6. Linguistics[Gram.]
    • relating to the meaning expressed by a linguistic form.
    • having full lexical meaning, in contrast to relational.
  7. Linguistics, Philosophy[Semantics.]belonging to a class of words that express clear concepts rather than relations between concepts;
    presentive. Cf. relational (def. 3), symbolic (def. 4).
  • notion + -al1 1590–1600
no′tion•al′i•ty, n. 
no′tion•al•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
notional /ˈnəʊʃənəl/ adj
  1. relating to, expressing, or consisting of notions or ideas
  2. not evident in reality; hypothetical or imaginary: a notional tax credit
  3. characteristic of a notion or concept, esp in being speculative or imaginary; abstract
    • (of a word) having lexical meaning
ˈnotionally adv
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
no•tion /ˈnoʊʃən/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. an idea or view, esp. one's own view:His notion of comfort meant comfortable shoes.
  2. a foolish idea;
    whim:had some weird notion about space creatures.
  3. notions, [plural] small articles, as buttons, thread, or ribbon, displayed together for sale.
no•tion•al, adj. See -nota-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
no•tion  (nō′shən),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a general understanding;
    vague or imperfect conception or idea of something:a notion of how something should be done.
  2. an opinion, view, or belief:That's his notion, not mine.
  3. conception or idea:his notion of democracy.
  4. a fanciful or foolish idea;
    whim:She had a notion to swim in the winter.
  5. an ingenious article, device, or contrivance;
    knickknack.
  6. notions, small articles, as buttons, thread, ribbon, and other personal items, esp. such items displayed together for sale, as in a department store.
  • Latin nōtiōn- (stem of nōtiō) examination, idea, equivalent. to nōt(us) past participle of nōscere (see notify) + -iōn- -ion
  • 1560–70
no′tion•less, adj. 
    1. 3. See idea. 
'notional' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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