hypothesis

hy·poth·e·sis

noun \hī-ˈpä-thə-səs\

plural hy·poth·e·ses \-ˌsēz\

Definition of HYPOTHESIS

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

Examples of HYPOTHESIS

1. Other chemists rejected his hypothesis.
2. Their hypothesis is that watching excessive amounts of television reduces a person's ability to concentrate.
3. The results of the experiment did not support his hypothesis.
4. In contrast to Bingham's hypothesis that Machu Picchu was the birthplace of the first Inca and the hearth area of the Inca civilization, current scholars believe that the city was built as a country estate … —Roger Balm, Focus On Geography, Spring 2004
5. Campus veterans marvel at all the poolside apartments that have sprung up since Georgia popped the income cap off its merit awards. Professors are testing their hypothesis that instead of increasing college enrollment, the state's $1.7 billion scholarship program has been a blessing for the automobile industry—since so many families roll the savings into buying new cars. —Greg Winter, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2002
6. Isaac Newton initially argued against a parabolic orbit for the … comet of 1680, preferring the hypothesis of two independent comets, one for the inbound and one for the outbound leg. However, Newton later showed that the orbit of the comet could indeed be fit by a parabola. —“Physics and Chemistry of Comets,” Daniel C. Boice and Walter Huebner in Encyclopedia of the Solar System Paul R. Weissman et al., editors , 1999
7. As stated, our working hypothesis suggests a straightforward way to look for evidence that would confirm or disconfirm it: can you predict what is omitted and what is included in alphabetic representations? —Timothy Shopen and Joseph M. Williams, Standards and Dialects in English, 1980

Origin of HYPOTHESIS

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

First Known Use: circa 1656

Related to HYPOTHESIS

Synonyms

theory, proposition, supposition, thesis

Related Words

assumption, concession, premise (also premiss), presumption, presupposition, theorem; conjecture, generalization, guess, guesswork, inference, speculation, surmise; proffer, proposal, suggestion; feeling, hunch, impression, inkling, notion, suspicion; abstraction, concept, conception, construct

Near Antonyms

assurance, certainty, fact, knowledge

Synonym Discussion of HYPOTHESIS

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>.

hy·poth·e·sis

noun \hī-ˈpäth-ə-səs\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; hy·poth·e·ses \-ˌsēz\ (audio pronunciation)

Medical Definition of HYPOTHESIS

: a proposition tentatively assumed in order to draw out its logical or empirical consequences and test its consistency with facts that are known or may be determined <it appears, then, to be a condition of the most genuinely scientific hypothesis that it be…of such a nature as to be either proved or disproved by comparison with observed facts—J. S. Mill>