hypothesis

noun hy·poth·e·sis \ hī-ˈpä-thə-səs \

Updated on: 11 Apr 2018

Definition of hypothesis

plural hypotheses play \hī-ˈpä-thə-ˌsēz\

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

See hypothesis defined for English-language learners

See hypothesis defined for kids

Examples of hypothesis in a Sentence

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
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
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. —Daniel C. Boice and Walter Huebner, "Physics and Chemistry of Comets," in Encyclopedia of the Solar System Paul R. Weissman et al., editors, 1999
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
Other chemists rejected his hypothesis.
Their hypothesis is that watching excessive amounts of television reduces a person's ability to concentrate.
The results of the experiment did not support his hypothesis.

Recent Examples of hypothesis from the Web

The increase in direct bookings supports our hypothesis that running Facebook ads in conjunction with search ads increases the overall effectiveness of our advertising strategy.

— phillip molnar, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Is Facebook still a good place for businesses?," 6 Apr. 2018
Yet, even as Hindu nationalism has gained politically, culminating in the current rule of the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), evidence has mounted against the out-of-India hypothesis.

— The Economist, "A new study squelches a treasured theory about Indians’ origins," 5 Apr. 2018
The discussion will be shaped around the hypothesis that the deductive process used to solve difficult riddles, problems, mysteries, or crimes is rendered possible only by altered states of consciousness, even borderline insanity.

— Courant Community, "Community News For The Valley Edition," 3 Apr. 2018
One of the leading hypotheses to account for the heat shift comes from famed physicist Eugene Parker, after whom the probe is named.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "This spacecraft will get closer to the Sun than any before it—without melting," 29 Mar. 2018
The most obvious hypothesis is another Myst remaster.

— hayden dingman, PCWorld, "Cyan teases a project of some sort tied to Myst's 25th anniversary," 7 Mar. 2018
Both hypotheses fell apart at 8:32 p.m. Sunday local time, when the latest bomb was triggered by two white men, both in their early 20s, walking through a neighborhood in southwest Austin.

— russell gold, WSJ, "Package Explodes at FedEx Facility in Texas; Link to Austin Bombs Suspected," 20 Mar. 2018
But scientists have already nixed the latter hypothesis, pointing to the location of a massive Martian feature called Tharsis.

— amina khan, latimes.com, "Oceans on ancient Mars may have got an assist from volcanoes," 20 Mar. 2018
Companies will often invest billions of dollars and many years chasing a promising scientific hypothesis.

— Fortune, "Tech’s Next Big Wave: Big Data Meets Biology," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hypothesis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of hypothesis

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1641

See Words from the same year

hypothesis Synonyms

Synonyms

proposition, supposition, theory, thesis;

Near Antonyms

assurance, certainty, fact, knowledge;

conjecture, generalization, guess, guesswork, inference, speculation, surmise;

proffer, proposal, suggestion;

feeling, hunch, impression, inkling, notion, suspicion;

abstraction, concept, conception, construct;

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

HYPOTHESIS Defined for English Language Learners

hypothesis

noun

Definition of hypothesis for English Language Learners

: an idea or theory that is not proven but that leads to further study or discussion

HYPOTHESIS Defined for Kids

hypothesis

noun hy·poth·e·sis \ hī-ˈpä-thə-səs \

Definition of hypothesis for Students

plural hypotheses \-ə-ˌsēz\

: something not proved but assumed to be true for purposes of argument or further study or investigation

Medical Dictionary

hypothesis

noun hy·poth·e·sis \ hī-ˈpäth-ə-səs \

medical Definition of hypothesis

plural hypotheses play \-ˌsēz\

: 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