SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
hypothesis
noun
A proposed explanation or assumption offered for examination or testing.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Proposed explanation
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topA scientific hypothesis is a proposed explanation to examine. A well-supported scientific theory is not merely a guess.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See hypothesis in use
The students tested their hypothesis by changing one feature of the model.
A campus print team noticed that one poster had emerged with a narrow stripe. Their first hypothesis was that the uploaded image contained the stripe, but the original file looked clean.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license