hypothesis
[noun]
Synonyms: assumption, postulate, premise, proposition, supposition, theory, thesis

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

hy‧poth‧e‧sis AC /haɪˈpɒθəsəs, haɪˈpɒθəsɪs $ -ˈpɑː-/ noun (plural hypotheses /-siːz/)
[Word Family: verb: hypothesize; noun: hypothesis; adverb: hypothetically; adjective: hypothetical]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Greek; Origin: hypotithenai 'to put under, hypothesize']

1. [countable] an idea that is suggested as an explanation for something, but that has not yet been proved to be true Synonym : theory:
One hypothesis is that the victim fell asleep while driving.
prove/test/support etc a hypothesis
We hope that further research will confirm our hypothesis.
hypothesis about
The authors reject the hypothesis about unemployment contributing to crime.

2. [uncountable] ideas or guesses, rather than facts Synonym : speculation:
All this is mere hypothesis.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

hypothesis
noun
ADJ. acceptable, plausible | bold Scientists have proposed a bold hypothesis.
unlikely | speculative | testable | working These observations appear to support our working hypothesis.
scientific
VERB + HYPOTHESIS construct, form, formulate, have, make, propose, put forward, suggest It is possible to make a hypothesis on the basis of this graph. A number of hypotheses have been put forward.
consider, discuss, examine, test (out) using this data to test her hypothesis
confirm, prove, support | accept | reject None of the hypotheses can be rejected at this stage.
VERB + HYPOTHESIS concern sth Her hypothesis concerns the role of electromagnetic radiation.
predict sth The hypothesis predicts that children will perform better on task A than on task B.
PREP. on a/the ~ Her study is based on the hypothesis that language simplification is possible.
~ about an interesting hypothesis about the development of language
~ on The results confirmed his hypothesis on the use of modal verbs.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲