adjective
1.
concerned principally with abstractions and theories
theoretical versus applied physics
Synonyms: academic, closet, speculative
Related Word: conjectural, hypothetical, notional, suppositional, unproved; analytical, problematical
Contrasted words: practical; factual; proved
Antonyms: applied
2.
Synonyms: abstract 1, hypothetical, ideal, transcendent, transcendental
Related Word: idealized, ivory-tower
Antonyms: concrete