![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
Look up counterfactual in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Counterfactual is counterfactual conditional, a conditional containing an if-clause which is contrary to fact.
Counterfactual may also refer to:
Arts and social science
edit- Counterfactual thinking, in psychology
- Counterfactual thought experiments, in philosophy, science, etc.
- Counterfactual history, in historiography
- Alternate history, a literary genre
- Counterfactual subjunctive, grammatical forms which in English are known as the past and pluperfect forms of the English subjunctive mood
Physics
edit- Counterfactual definiteness, in quantum theory
- Elitzur–Vaidman bomb tester, in quantum theory (counterfactual measurements)