hypothetical vs speculative

hypothetical

adj
  • Based upon a hypothesis; conjectural 

  • conditional; contingent upon some hypothesis/antecedent 

noun
  • A possible or hypothetical situation or proposition 

speculative

adj
  • Characterized by speculation; based on guessing, unfounded opinions, or extrapolation. 

  • Pursued as a gamble, with possible large profits or losses; risky. 

  • Pertaining to financial speculation; Involving or resulting from high-risk investments or trade. 

How often have the words hypothetical and speculative occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )