Main Entry: hy·poth·e·sis

Pronunciation: \hī-ˈpä-thə-səs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural hy·poth·e·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology: Greek, from hypotithenai to put under, suppose, from hypo- + tithenai to put — more at do

Date: circa 1656

1 a : an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument b : an interpretation of a practical situation or condition taken as the ground for action
2 : a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences
3 : the antecedent clause of a conditional statement

synonyms hypothesis, theory, law mean a formula derived by inference from scientific data that explains a principle operating in nature. hypothesis implies insufficient evidence to provide more than a tentative explanation <a hypothesis explaining the extinction of the dinosaurs>. theory implies a greater range of evidence and greater likelihood of truth <the theory of evolution>. law implies a statement of order and relation in nature that has been found to be invariable under the same conditions <the law of gravitation>.