Definitions for hypothesis
haɪˈpɒθ ə sɪs, hɪ-; -ˌsizhy·poth·e·sis

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:3.6 / 20 votes

1. hypothesisnoun

   a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

2. 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"

3. guess, conjecture, supposition, surmise, surmisal, speculation, hypothesisnoun

   a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. 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.

2. hypothesisnoun

   An assumption taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation.

3. hypothesisnoun

   The antecedent of a conditional statement.

4. Etymology: Recorded since 1596, from hypothese, from hypothesis, from ὑπόθεσις, literally “a placing under”, itself from ὑποτίθημι, from ὑπό + τίθημι.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. 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 DictionaryRate this definition:3.1 / 7 votes

1. 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

2. 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

WikidataRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. 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 DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. 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.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. hypothesis

   vulnerable guess.

   
   

   Submitted by anonymous on January 27, 2021  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Hypothesis

   Hypothesis vs. Prediction -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Hypothesis and Prediction.

Matched Categories

1. • Opinion
   • Proposal

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'hypothesis' in Nouns Frequency: #1672

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce hypothesis?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say hypothesis in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of hypothesis in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of hypothesis in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of hypothesis in a Sentence

1. Olivier Le Peuch:

   Our hypothesis going forward is that the market supply share will rebalance slightly, will favor international and will, as a consequence, pull international activity to 100% or more in the next 2 or 3 years.

2. Geoffroy Avard:

   We would like to characterize how life reclaims this environment, a main hypothesis from our study is that life in Costa Rica Poás volcano is able to survive on the fringes during these extreme environments. So we'd love to sample not only the crater lake but the shore line, connected groundwater systems, and anywhere where life might be harbored nearby.

3. Lola Thompson:

   This [criterion] is just one of many equivalent formulations of the Riemann hypothesis.

4. Ken Campbell:

   The general hypothesis is that - first of all, these monkeys were very small, they’re about the size of a small squirrel with a long tail. So they’re very small and as a consequence their food and water requirements would be much less than if they were very large. So the general hypothesis is that there were monkeys on a river bank. During flood season, trees get swept into the river and carried out to the ocean. As vegetation rafts, [the trees are] carried across on the Atlantic based on wind and current directions. This remains a hypothesis- there’s no proof yet, although the similarities between the monkeys suggests that it did happen.

5. Friday Daszak:

   I'm a scientist. And what I do is I look at the evidence around a hypothesis, there is a huge amount of evidence that these viruses repeatedly emerge into people from wild animals in rural areas through things like hunting and eating wildlife. There is zero evidence that this virus came out of a lab in China.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=hypothesis
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Hypothesis
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=hypothesis
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypothesis
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=hypothesis
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=hypothesis
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hypothesis