in theory

1. 1.

   with regard to fundamentals although not concerning details

   “in principle, we agree”

   Synonymsin principlein essence

Questions about in theory

What does in theory mean?

in theory means "with regard to fundamentals although not concerning details".

What is another word for in theory?

Close synonyms include in principle, in essence. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is in theory a common word?

in theory is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.