different between imaginary vs hypothetical

English

Etymology

From Middle French imaginaire, from Latin im?gin?rius (“relating to images, fancied”), from im?g?.

The mathematical sense derives from René Descartes's use (of the French imaginaire) in 1637, La Geometrie, to ridicule the notion of regarding non-real roots of polynomials as numbers. Although Descartes' usage was derogatory, the designation stuck even after the concept gained acceptance in the 18th century.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??mæd??n(?)?i/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??mæd???n??i/

Adjective

imaginary (comparative more imaginary, superlative most imaginary)

1. Existing only in the imagination.

   • Wilt thou add to all the griefs I suffer / Imaginary ills and fancied tortures?

2. (mathematics, of a number) Having no real part; that part of a complex number which is a multiple of ${\displaystyle {\sqrt {-1}}}$ (called imaginary unit).

Synonyms

• (existing only in the imagination): all in one's head

Derived terms

• imaginarily
• imaginariness
• imaginarity
• imaginary number
• imaginary unit

Translations

Noun

imaginary (plural imaginaries)

1. Imagination; fancy. [from 16th c.]
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 324:

     By then too Mozart's opera, from Da Ponte's libretto, had made Figaro a stock character in the European imaginary and set the whole Continent whistling Mozartian airs and chuckling at Figaresque humour.
2. (mathematics) An imaginary quantity. [from 18th c.]
3. (sociology) The set of values, institutions, laws, and symbols common to a particular social group and the corresponding society through which people imagine their social whole.

References

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ?????????? (hupothetikós)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ha?p????t?kl/

Adjective

hypothetical (comparative more hypothetical, superlative most hypothetical)

1. Based upon a hypothesis; conjectural
2. (philosophy) conditional; contingent upon some hypothesis/antecedent

Synonyms

• conjectural
• (contingent upon some hypothesis): conditional

Antonyms

• (actual): actual
• (in philosophy): categorical

Translations

Noun

hypothetical (plural hypotheticals)

1. A hypothetical situation or proposition

   These hypotheticals serve no purpose until we have more information.

Related terms

• hypothesis
• hypothesize