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subjunctively

subjunctively

Adverb

This term is highly specialized and belongs almost exclusively to the register of linguistics, grammar, and formal philology. It describes the specific mechanical application of the subjunctive mood, which is used to distance a statement from factual reality, instead framing it as a desire, a doubt, or a hypothetical scenario.

Because it is a technical adverb, it is rarely encountered in casual conversation. It is typically used by educators, linguists, or writers analyzing the structural properties of a text to explain why a verb was conjugated in a non-indicative way.

Meanings

Adverbsubjunctively

In a manner that employs the subjunctive mood of a verb to express a wish, a possibility, a necessity, or a hypothetical condition.

The sentence was phrased subjunctively to indicate that the outcome was merely a possibility rather than a certainty.

Examples

The verb in this clause is phrased subjunctively to indicate a hypothetical situation.

School Life

I wonder if I should have phrased that request more subjunctively to sound polite.

In some languages the verb is conjugated subjunctively to express a strong wish.

Trivia

You must think of the sentence subjunctively rather than as a statement of fact.

School Life

The author wrote the passage subjunctively to emphasize the uncertainty of the outcome.

Wait the verb here is used subjunctively isn't it?

School Life

The sentence was constructed subjunctively to reflect a counterfactual condition.

He spoke subjunctively as if he were imagining a completely different world.

Fantasy

The professor explained how the mood functions subjunctively in Latin prose.

History

Last Updated: May 2026•Report an Error