Theory — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/θˈiəɹi/

🇬🇧British English

/θˈiəɹi/

🇮🇳Indian English

/θˈiəɹi/

2 syllables Say it as /θˈiəɹi/.

Examples

theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses
true in fact and theory
a scientific hypothesis that survives experimental testing becomes a scientific theory

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

hypothesis possibility

Parts of Speech

noun	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”
noun	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”
noun	a belief that can guide behavior “the architect has a theory that more is less”

Word Forms

theorist	noun	someone who theorizes (especially in science or art)
theoretic	adjective	concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations
theoretician	noun	someone who theorizes (especially in science or art)
hypothecate	verb	to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
hypothesize	verb	to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
theorize	verb	to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
theorise	verb	to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Theorie

eine fundierte Erklärung eines Aspekts der natürlichen Welt; ein organisiertes System anerkannten Wissens, das unter verschiedenen Umständen zur Erklärung eines bestimmten Satzes angewendet werden kann

🇫🇷French

théorie

une explication bien étayée de certains aspects du monde naturel ; un système organisé de connaissances acceptées qui s'applique dans diverses circonstances pour expliquer un ensemble spécifique

🇪🇸Spanish

teoría

una explicación bien fundamentada de algún aspecto del mundo natural; Un sistema organizado de conocimiento aceptado que se aplica en una variedad de circunstancias para explicar un conjunto específico.

🇮🇹Italian

teoria

una spiegazione ben documentata di alcuni aspetti del mondo naturale; un sistema organizzato di conoscenza accettata che si applica in una varietà di circostanze per spiegare un insieme specifico

🇳🇱Dutch

theorie

een goed onderbouwde verklaring van een bepaald aspect van de natuurlijke wereld; een georganiseerd systeem van geaccepteerde kennis dat in verschillende omstandigheden van toepassing is om een specifieke reeks te verklaren

🇵🇹Portuguese

teoria

uma explicação bem fundamentada de algum aspecto do mundo natural; um sistema organizado de conhecimento aceito que se aplica a uma variedade de circunstâncias para explicar um conjunto específico

🇷🇺Russian

теория

обоснованное объяснение какого-либо аспекта мира природы; организованная система общепринятых знаний, которая применяется в различных обстоятельствах для объяснения определенного набора

India

🇮🇳Hindi

लिखित

प्राकृतिक दुनिया के कुछ पहलू की अच्छी तरह से प्रमाणित व्याख्या; स्वीकृत ज्ञान की एक संगठित प्रणाली जो किसी विशिष्ट सेट को समझाने के लिए विभिन्न परिस्थितियों में लागू होती है

🇧🇩Bengali

তত্ত্ব

প্রাকৃতিক বিশ্বের কিছু দিক একটি ভালভাবে প্রমাণিত ব্যাখ্যা; গৃহীত জ্ঞানের একটি সংগঠিত সিস্টেম যা একটি নির্দিষ্ট সেট ব্যাখ্যা করার জন্য বিভিন্ন পরিস্থিতিতে প্রযোজ্য

🇮🇳Tamil

கோட்பாடு

இயற்கை உலகின் சில அம்சங்களின் நன்கு ஆதாரபூர்வமான விளக்கம்; ஒரு குறிப்பிட்ட தொகுப்பை விளக்குவதற்கு பல்வேறு சூழ்நிலைகளில் பயன்படுத்தப்படும் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட அறிவின் ஒழுங்கமைக்கப்பட்ட அமைப்பு

🇮🇳Telugu

సిద్ధాంతం

సహజ ప్రపంచం యొక్క కొన్ని అంశాల గురించి బాగా నిరూపితమైన వివరణ; ఒక నిర్దిష్ట సమితిని వివరించడానికి వివిధ పరిస్థితులలో వర్తించే ఆమోదించబడిన జ్ఞానం యొక్క వ్యవస్థీకృత వ్యవస్థ

🇮🇳Marathi

सिद्धांत

नैसर्गिक जगाच्या काही पैलूंचे सुस्पष्ट स्पष्टीकरण; स्वीकृत ज्ञानाची एक संघटित प्रणाली जी विशिष्ट संचाचे स्पष्टीकरण देण्यासाठी विविध परिस्थितींमध्ये लागू होते

🇮🇳Gujarati

સિદ્ધાંત

કુદરતી વિશ્વના કેટલાક પાસાઓનું સારી રીતે પ્રમાણિત સમજૂતી; સ્વીકૃત જ્ઞાનની એક સંગઠિત પ્રણાલી જે ચોક્કસ સમૂહને સમજાવવા માટે વિવિધ સંજોગોમાં લાગુ પડે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸಿದ್ಧಾಂತ

ನೈಸರ್ಗಿಕ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಕೆಲವು ಅಂಶಗಳ ಉತ್ತಮವಾದ ದೃಢೀಕರಣದ ವಿವರಣೆ; ಒಂದು ನಿರ್ದಿಷ್ಟ ಗುಂಪನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸಲು ವಿವಿಧ ಸಂದರ್ಭಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ವಯಿಸುವ ಅಂಗೀಕೃತ ಜ್ಞಾನದ ಸಂಘಟಿತ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സിദ്ധാന്തം

പ്രകൃതി ലോകത്തിൻ്റെ ചില വശങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ച് നന്നായി തെളിയിക്കപ്പെട്ട വിശദീകരണം; ഒരു പ്രത്യേക സെറ്റ് വിശദീകരിക്കുന്നതിന് വിവിധ സാഹചര്യങ്ങളിൽ പ്രയോഗിക്കുന്ന അംഗീകൃത അറിവിൻ്റെ ഒരു സംഘടിത സംവിധാനം

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਸਿਧਾਂਤ

ਕੁਦਰਤੀ ਸੰਸਾਰ ਦੇ ਕੁਝ ਪਹਿਲੂਆਂ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਮਾਣਿਤ ਵਿਆਖਿਆ; ਪ੍ਰਵਾਨਿਤ ਗਿਆਨ ਦੀ ਇੱਕ ਸੰਗਠਿਤ ਪ੍ਰਣਾਲੀ ਜੋ ਇੱਕ ਖਾਸ ਸੈੱਟ ਦੀ ਵਿਆਖਿਆ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਸਥਿਤੀਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਾਗੂ ਹੁੰਦੀ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

نظریہ

قدرتی دنیا کے کچھ پہلوؤں کی ایک اچھی طرح سے ثابت شدہ وضاحت؛ قبول شدہ علم کا ایک منظم نظام جو کسی مخصوص سیٹ کی وضاحت کے لیے مختلف حالات میں لاگو ہوتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

理论

对自然世界某些方面的充分证实的解释；一种有组织的公认知识体系，适用于各种情况来解释特定的集合

🇯🇵Japanese

理論

自然界のある側面についての十分に根拠のある説明。特定のセットを説明するためにさまざまな状況に適用される、受け入れられた知識の組織化されたシステム

🇰🇷Korean

이론

자연계의 일부 측면에 대한 잘 입증된 설명 특정 세트를 설명하기 위해 다양한 상황에 적용되는 수용된 지식의 조직화된 시스템

🇻🇳Vietnamese

lý thuyết

một lời giải thích có căn cứ rõ ràng về một số khía cạnh của thế giới tự nhiên; một hệ thống kiến thức được chấp nhận có tổ chức, áp dụng trong nhiều trường hợp khác nhau để giải thích một tập hợp cụ thể

🇹🇭Thai

ทฤษฎี

คำอธิบายที่พิสูจน์ได้อย่างดีเกี่ยวกับบางแง่มุมของโลกธรรมชาติ ระบบการจัดการความรู้ที่เป็นที่ยอมรับซึ่งนำไปใช้ในสถานการณ์ต่างๆ เพื่ออธิบายชุดข้อมูลเฉพาะ

🇮🇩Indonesian

teori

penjelasan yang kuat tentang beberapa aspek alam; suatu sistem pengetahuan yang diterima dan terorganisir yang berlaku dalam berbagai keadaan untuk menjelaskan serangkaian pengetahuan tertentu

🇵🇭Filipino

teorya

isang mahusay na napatunayang paliwanag ng ilang aspeto ng natural na mundo; isang organisadong sistema ng tinatanggap na kaalaman na nalalapat sa iba't ibang mga pangyayari upang ipaliwanag ang isang tiyak na hanay

🇲🇾Malay

teori

penjelasan yang kukuh tentang beberapa aspek alam semula jadi; sistem tersusun pengetahuan yang diterima yang digunakan dalam pelbagai keadaan untuk menerangkan set tertentu

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نظرية

تفسير مدعم بأدلة جيدة لبعض جوانب العالم الطبيعي؛ نظام منظم للمعرفة المقبولة التي تنطبق في مجموعة متنوعة من الظروف لشرح مجموعة محددة

🇮🇷Persian

نظریه

توضیحی مستدل از برخی جنبه‌های جهان طبیعی؛ یک سیستم سازمان یافته از دانش پذیرفته شده است که در شرایط مختلف برای توضیح یک مجموعه خاص به کار می رود

🇹🇷Turkish

teori

doğal dünyanın bazı yönlerine ilişkin iyi kanıtlanmış bir açıklama; Belirli bir diziyi açıklamak için çeşitli durumlarda uygulanan, kabul edilmiş bilgilerin organize bir sistemi

🇮🇱Hebrew

תֵאוֹרִיָה

הסבר מבוסס היטב של היבט כלשהו של עולם הטבע; מערכת מאורגנת של ידע מקובל שמיועדת במגוון נסיבות כדי להסביר סט ספציפי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'theory'?

The primary meaning of 'theory' is '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'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'theory' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'theory' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'theory' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'theory' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'theory' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'theory' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'theory' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'theory' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'theory' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'theory' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted