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Literary notes about conceivably (AI summary)

The term “conceivably” is employed across literary works to signal a cautiously open possibility or a tentative hypothesis, allowing authors to introduce uncertainty without committing fully to an assertion. It often functions as a verbal qualifier that suggests an outcome or explanation is within the realm of thought—even if not definitively established—as seen when used to question personal experience or to attribute historical or scientific plausibility ([1], [2]). In narrative contexts, it can reflect a character's shifting perceptions or the subtle interplay of chance and circumstance, while in analytical or philosophical discourse it tempers claims with an element of speculative thought ([3], [4]). Overall, its usage serves to imbue prose with a measured ambiguity, inviting readers to consider alternative interpretations or possibilities that might otherwise be overlooked.
  1. “But you’ve never conceivably—you’ve never—” She pulled herself together.
    — from Howards End by E. M. Forster
  2. 2845 Let us, however, assume that Sangatte may conceivably have possessed a harbour in Caesar’s time.
    — from Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar by T. Rice (Thomas Rice) Holmes
  3. First it is a question which cannot conceivably ever find any answer: that is why modern people are so fond of it.
    — from What's Wrong with the World by G. K. Chesterton
  4. Science, therefore, has to resign itself to the conclusion that its method cannot conceivably attain to absolute truth, and to make the best of it.
    — from Studies in the History and Method of Science, vol. 1 (of 2)

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