big ifs
Significant conditional assumptions
Big ifs are major uncertainties or doubtful conditions that could determine an outcome.
The phrase emphasizes how much depends on assumptions that may not hold: There are a lot of big ifs in that business plan.
A single big if can undermine an entire argument: That's a big if—what happens if they say no?
- possibilityState of being achievable
- hypotheticalAssumed but unproven
- riskPossibility of harm
- speculativeBased on conjecture
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
question marks · proviso · supposition · chance · contingency · odds · stipulation · precariousness · caveats · gamble · leap of faith · qualifiers · reservations · unknowns · conjecture · educated guess · assumption · repercussions
certainty
big ifssure things
Guaranteed outcomes
certainties · guarantees · foregone conclusions · safe bets · done deals