Learn English – “Hypothesis” and “theory”

differencesnouns

My basic knowledge of these two words is that they both mean the same thing. So why are they used differently, and what is their difference in meaning?

Best Answer

Let's get some standard definitions in here.

hypothesis:

A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations; a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena.

A scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory.

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.

Theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses.

All from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn.

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