[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/notional/)

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# notional

adjective (notional)

«notional» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Existing only as an idea or estimate, not real or exact, as in "a notional sum". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#m1)
2. (formal) Based on theory, not on facts or practice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#m2)

### In the lessons

Used in money, maths and economics (a notional value, a number used to compare or plan, not a real amount paid) and in formal writing. In everyday life it is a rarer word.

### Examples

- Each player gets a notional £100 in the game to spend. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x1)
- The price is only notional; nobody has really paid it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x2)
- The rent was a notional one pound a year. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x3)
- The map uses a notional line to divide the zones. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x4)
- We worked out a notional budget for our class party. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x5)
- The equator is a notional line round the Earth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/#x6)

### Note

Formal. From "notion" (an idea). In maths problems, a notional amount is an imagined amount used for working out; treat it as the given number.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «notional» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/notional/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«notional» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/notional.html) on Mova free.