/ ˌhaɪpəˈθetɪkl; NAmE / adjective
based on situations or ideas which are possible and imagined rather than real and true :
a hypothetical question / situation / example
Let us take the hypothetical case of Sheila, a mother of two ...
I wasn't asking about anybody in particular—it was a purely hypothetical question.
► hypo·thet·ic·al·ly / -kli; NAmE / adverb