counterfactual
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But every rule proposed today should be tested against a simple counterfactual: had it been on the books a decade ago, would the firm we are now regulating have ever been built?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
EEA studies compare an event's characteristics, such as its probability and intensity in the current climate, to a "counterfactual" world without human-caused emissions.
From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026
We can't be certain because the results depend heavily on the method chosen by researchers for measuring the "counterfactual", i.e what would have happened to UK exports had the country stayed in the EU.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2025
These so-called counterfactual scenarios are alternative possibilities for past events, i.e. scenarios that did not occur but could have happened.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2024
For projects claiming to avoid emissions, it's difficult to prove the counterfactual: Would a given forest really have been cut down without the offset project?
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2023
