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1. Concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations
   "theoretical science"
   - theoretic
    
2. Aiming to understand fundamental principles rather than developing practical applications
   "theoretical physics"

See also: a priori, abstract, abstractive, academic, conjectural, divinatory, hypothetic, hypothetical, metaphysical, notional, pure, speculative, supposed, suppositional, suppositious, supposititious, theoretically, theory-based

Antonym: applied, empirical

Encyclopedia: Theoretical