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THEORY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena
Example:
he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices
Synonyms:
hypothesis; possibility; theory
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("theory" is a kind of...):
concept; conception; construct (an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "theory"):
hypothetical (a hypothetical possibility, circumstance, statement, proposal, situation, etc.)
gemmule (the physically discrete element that Darwin proposed as responsible for heredity)
framework; model; theoretical account (a hypothetical description of a complex entity or process)
conjecture; speculation (a hypothesis that has been formed by speculating or conjecturing (usually with little hard evidence))
assumption; supposal; supposition (a hypothesis that is taken for granted)
historicism (a theory that social and cultural events are determined by history)
Holonyms ("theory" is a part of...):
theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena)
Derivation:
theoretic (concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations)
theoretician (someone who theorizes (especially in science or art))
theorise (to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds)
theorist (someone who theorizes (especially in science or art))
theorize (to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A belief that can guide behavior
Example:
they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("theory" is a kind of...):
belief (any cognitive content held as true)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "theory"):
egoism ((ethics) the theory that the pursuit of your own welfare in the basis of morality)
hodgepodge; jumble; patchwork (a theory or argument made up of miscellaneous or incongruous ideas)
Derivation:
theorise (to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds)
theorist (someone who theorizes (especially in science or art))
theorize (to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena
Example:
true in fact and theory
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("theory" is a kind of...):
explanation (thought that makes something comprehensible)
Meronyms (parts of "theory"):
law; law of nature (a generalization that describes recurring facts or events in nature)
hypothesis; possibility; theory (a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "theory"):
structural anthropology; structuralism (an anthropological theory that there are unobservable social structures that generate observable social phenomena)
structural sociology; structuralism (a sociological theory based on the premise that society comes before individuals)
holism; holistic theory (the theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole)
atomic theory; atomism; atomist theory; atomistic theory ((chemistry) any theory in which all matter is composed of tiny discrete finite indivisible indestructible particles)
economic theory ((economics) a theory of commercial activities (such as the production and consumption of goods))
field theory ((physics) a theory that explains a physical phenomenon in terms of a field and the manner in which it interacts with matter or with other fields)
scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)
preformation; theory of preformation (a theory (popular in the 18th century and now discredited) that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a tiny fully formed organism (a homunculus) that exists in the germ cell)
blastogenesis (theory that inherited characteristics are transmitted by germ plasm)
reductionism (a theory that all complex systems can be completely understood in terms of their components)
Derivation:
theoretic (concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations)
theoretician; theorist (someone who theorizes (especially in science or art))
Context examples:
Change and systems theory are utilized to develop interventions to manage and improve patient care.
(Pediatric nurse specialist, NCI Thesaurus)
And now he learned that evolution was no mere theory but an accepted process of development; that scientists no longer disagreed about it, their only differences being over the method of evolution.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
The discovery adds a layer of complexity to established theories about the past movement of animals on the continents.
(First-ever fossil monkey found in North America, NSF)
Researchers had proposed several theories for how viperin exerts its anti-viral effects, but precisely how it acted was a mystery.
(Scientists Discover How Antiviral Gene Works, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Through theory and research; clinical specialists advance the health care of older adults and the specialty of gerontological nursing.
(Gerontological Nurse Specialist, NCI Thesaurus)
Theory that attributed most geological features of the earth to the great flood described in the Bible.
(Diluvian Theory, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
An extract or quotation from or reference to an authoritative source, e.g. a book or author, used, for example, to support an idea, theory, or argument.
(Citation, NCI Thesaurus)
CHAI Foundation finds and funds credentialed researchers who are under funded because their theories do not fit into the mold of current group-think or who are overlooked in favor of younger researchers.
(CHAI Foundation, NCI Thesaurus)
Information theory does not directly deal with meaning or content, but with physical representations that have meaning or content.
(Information and Communication Theory, NCI Thesaurus)
In alternative medicine, a theory that people fall into one of three groups (protein, carbohydrate, or mixed type) based on the main type of food that their bodies need to stay healthy.
(Metabolic type, NCI Dictionary)
