What does hypothesis mean?
Definitions for hypothesis
haɪˈpɒθ ə sɪs, hɪ-; -ˌsizhy·poth·e·sis
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hypothesis.
Princeton's WordNet
hypothesisnoun
a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations
hypothesis, possibility, theorynoun
a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena
"a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory"; "he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices"
guess, conjecture, supposition, surmise, surmisal, speculation, hypothesisnoun
a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
Wiktionary
hypothesisnoun
Used loosely, a tentative conjecture explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation. As a scientific term of art, see the attached quotation. Compare to theory, and quotation given there.
hypothesisnoun
An assumption taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation.
hypothesisnoun
The antecedent of a conditional statement.
Etymology: Recorded since 1596, from hypothese, from hypothesis, from ὑπόθεσις, literally “a placing under”, itself from ὑποτίθημι, from ὑπό + τίθημι.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
HYPOTHESISnoun
A supposition; a system formed upon some principle not proved.
Etymology: hypothese, Fr. ὑϖόϑεσις.
The mind casts and turns itself restlesly from one thing to another, ’till at length it brings all the ends of a long and various hypothesis together; sees how one part coheres with another, and so clears off all the appearing contrarieties that seemed to lie cross, and make the whole intelligible. Robert South, Serm.
With imagin’d sovereignty
Lord of his new hypothesis he reigns:
He reigns: how long? ’till some usurper rise;
And he too, mighty thoughtful, mighty wise,
Studies new lines, and other circles feigns. Matthew Prior.
ChatGPT
hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation or assumption for a specific phenomenon or set of observations, which is then tested through research or experimentation. It is a fundamental aspect of scientific investigation and serves as the basis for conducting experiments, collecting data, and reaching conclusions.
Webster Dictionary
Hypothesisnoun
a supposition; a proposition or principle which is supposed or taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion or inference for proof of the point in question; something not proved, but assumed for the purpose of argument, or to account for a fact or an occurrence; as, the hypothesis that head winds detain an overdue steamer
Hypothesisnoun
a tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts, and to guide in the investigation of others; hence, frequently called a working hypothesis
Wikidata
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A scientific hypothesis is a proposed explanation of a phenomenon which still has to be rigorously tested. In contrast, a scientific theory has undergone extensive testing and is generally accepted to be the accurate explanation behind an observation. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research. A different meaning of the term hypothesis is used in formal logic, to denote the antecedent of a proposition; thus in the proposition "If P, then Qs; Q can be called a consequent. P is the assumption in a What If question. The adjective hypothetical, meaning "having the nature of a hypothesis", or "being assumed to exist as an immediate consequence of a hypothesis", can refer to any of these meanings of the term "hypothesis".
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Hypothesis
hī-poth′e-sis, n. a supposition: a proposition assumed for the sake of argument: a theory to be proved or disproved by reference to facts: a provisional explanation of anything.—v.i. Hypoth′esize, to form hypotheses.—adjs. Hypothet′ic, -al, belonging to a hypothesis: conditional.—adv. Hypothet′ically. [Gr., hypo, under, tithenai, to place.]
Suggested Resources
Hypothesis
Hypothesis vs. Prediction -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Hypothesis and Prediction.
British National Corpus
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'hypothesis' in Nouns Frequency: #1672
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of hypothesis in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of hypothesis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9
Examples of hypothesis in a Sentence
Perhaps with the DNA tests that we will do on these skeletons we may confirm or not this hypothesis that these deceased, these young people could be ... part of a coup ... an attempt by a noble to take power by force.
I completely refute what has been indicated by some that there will be a loss with regard this agreement compared to the hypothesis of a sale to Russia.
One hypothesis the labor data is putting forward is that employment may now be growing at a pace of almost 300,000 even after the dollar has strengthened considerably. That is clearly above the speed limit, if this continues while labor participation does not increase, the jobless rate will fall to around 4.5 percent by the end of year and the Fed risks falling behind the curve in keeping inflation in check.
The goal of the study is to prove that laughter therapy is effective, that the hypothesis that it is effective is true.
That's where it might make a difference when we look at exoplanets. We would want to consider that the pigments on an alien planet might be different than what we have on modern Earth, and if the Purple Earth hypothesis was correct and there was a dominance of purple organisms in the early Earth, then we might be able to find another planet that's at an earlier stage of evolution of the planet, where the purple pigments might have dominated.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for hypothesis
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- فرضيةArabic
- hipòtesiCatalan, Valencian
- hypotéza, domněnkaCzech
- hypoteseDanish
- HypotheseGerman
- υπόθεσηGreek
- hipotezoEsperanto
- hipótesisSpanish
- otaksuma, olettamus, hypoteesiFinnish
- hypothèseFrench
- परिकल्पनाHindi
- feltételezés, hipotézis, feltevésHungarian
- վարկածArmenian
- hipotesaIndonesian
- ipotesiItalian
- הַשׁעָרָהHebrew
- 仮設, 仮定, 仮説Japanese
- 가정법, 가설, 가정Korean
- گریمانهKurdish
- HypotheesLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- hypothese, stelling, veronderstellingDutch
- hipótesePortuguese
- prezumție, ipotezăRomanian
- предположение, гипотезаRussian
- antagande, hypotesSwedish
- hipotezTurkish
- 假设Chinese
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