hypothesis
hy.poth.e.sis \hi--'pa:th-*-s*s\ \-*-.se-z\ n or hy.poth.e.ses [Gk, fr.
hypotithenai to put under, suppose, fr. hypo- + tithena] pl i to put - more
at DO 1: a tentative assumption made in order to draw out and test its
logical or empirical consequences 2a: an assumption or concession made for
the sake of argument 2b: an interpretation of a practical situation or
condition taken as the gr ound for actioninference from scientific data
that explains a principle operating in nature. HYPOTHESIS implies
insufficiency of presently attainable evidence and therefore a tentative
explanation; THEORY implies a greater range of evidence and greater
likelihood of truth; LAW implies a statement of order and relation in
nature that has been found to be invariable under the same conditions SYN
syn HYPOTHESIS, THEORY, LAW mean a formula derived by