THEORY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does theory mean? 

• THEORY (noun)
  The noun THEORY has 3 senses:

1. 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

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

3. a belief that can guide behavior

  Familiarity information: THEORY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THEORY (noun)

Sense 1

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

true in fact and theory

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))

Sense 2

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

hypothesis; possibility; theory

Context example:

he proposed a fresh theory of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices

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"):

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)

hypothetical (a hypothetical possibility, circumstance, statement, proposal, situation, etc.)

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 3

Meaning:

A belief that can guide behavior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales

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)

 Context examples 

Unless we succeed in establishing an alternative theory, this man is lost.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

What do you think of my theory?

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

To explore this theory, the scientists first conducted a study in which they increased adipsin levels in mice with type 2 diabetes.

(New Potential Approach Found to Type 2 Diabetes Treatment, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Derived from experiment and observation rather than theory.

(Empiric, NCI Thesaurus)

Consider what is involved by your theory.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This category deals with theories and practices designed to prevent the development of illness, identify and treat risk factors, or support of healing and recovery processes.

(Lifestyle and Disease Prevention, NCI Thesaurus)

But this theory would not work.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As to the management of their children, his theory was much better than his wife's, and his practice not so bad.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I must here speak by theory alone, saying not that which I know, but that which I suppose to be most probable.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

All this I saw in the first glance after I crossed the threshold—child-like, according to my theory—and then Peggotty opened a little door and showed me my bedroom.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)