Another word for theory
a-z
Noun
Abstract reasoning
- Reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.
- A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture.
- Contemplation or consideration of a subject; meditation.
- Opinion or judgment based on inconclusive or incomplete evidence; guesswork.
- An opinion or conclusion based on guesswork:
- To judge or conclude by conjecture; guess:
A belief used as the basis for action
- A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.
- Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption.
- The antecedent of a conditional statement.
Something taken to be true without proof
- A proposition that is maintained by argument.
- A dissertation advancing an original point of view as a result of research, especially as a requirement for an academic degree.
- A hypothetical proposition, especially one put forth without proof.
- The act of supposing.
- Something supposed; an assumption.
- An assumption made beforehand; a preliminary conjecture or speculation.
- The act of presupposing.
- A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn.
- One of the propositions in a deductive argument.
- Either the major or the minor proposition of a syllogism, from which the conclusion is drawn.
- The act of postulating or something postulated
- (logic) Something self-evident that can be assumed as the basis of an argument
- To assume or assert the truth, reality, or necessity of, especially as a basis of an argument:
- To propose as a hypothesis or explanation:
- To assume as a premise or axiom; take for granted.
- The act of taking to or upon oneself:
- The act of taking possession or asserting a claim:
- The act of taking for granted:
See also:
© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Another word for theory
Noun
Principles
See also:Something to be proved
- A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof:
- A judgment based on special knowledge and given by an expert:
- A judgment or estimation of the merit of a person or thing:
- Reasoning based on inconclusive evidence; conjecture or supposition.
- A conclusion, opinion, or theory reached by conjecture.
- Contemplation or consideration of a subject; meditation.
- Opinion or judgment based on inconclusive or incomplete evidence; guesswork.
- An opinion or conclusion based on guesswork:
- To judge or conclude by conjecture; guess:
- The act of taking to or upon oneself:
- The act of taking possession or asserting a claim:
- The act of taking for granted:
- A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation.
- Something taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation; an assumption.
- The antecedent of a conditional statement.
Synonym Study
- Law implies an exact formulation of the principle operating in a sequence of events in nature, observed to occur with unvarying uniformity under the same conditions the law of the conservation of energy
- Hypothesis refers to an explanation that is tentatively inferred, often as a basis for further experimentation, but that is not fully supported by evidence the nebular hypothesis
- Theory , in scientific or technical use, refers to a general principle or set of principles, based on considerable evidence, formulated to explain the operation of certain phenomena the theory of evolution, though it is often loosely used to mean a mere conjecture, guess, or hypothesis
© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.