theory
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
theory
- /ˈθɪə.ɹi/ Australia, UK
- /ˈθɪ.ɹi/ US
- /ˈθi.ə.ɹi/ US
- /ˈθɪɚ.i/ US
- /ˈθi.ɹi/ US
- /ˈθɛː.ɹi/
- /ˈt̪ʰɪjɵri/ South Asia
- /ˈθiə.ɹi/ New Zealand
- /ˈθi.ɹɪ/ Scotland
- /ˈθi.ɹe/ Scotland
Rhymes with -ɪəɹi, -iːəɹi
Where it comes from
Ancient Greek *θεᾱ-(ϝ)ορός, *θεη-(ϝ)ορός (*theā-(w)orós, *theē-(w)orós)
Ancient Greek θεωρός (theōrós)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek θεωρία (theōría)bor.
Late Latin theōrialbor.
Middle French théoriebor.
English theory
Borrowed from Middle French théorie, a learned borrowing from Late Latin theōria, borrowed from Ancient Greek θεωρία (theōría), from θεωρός (theōrós, “spectator”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā).
noun theories
- A description of an event or system that is considered to be accurate. As they encrease the hatred of vice in some, so doe they enlarge the theory of wickednesse in all.
- A coherent statement or set of ideas that explains observed facts or phenomena and correctly predicts new facts or phenomena not previously observed, or which sets out the laws and principles of something known or observed; a hypothesis confirmed by observation, experiment etc. In its most proper acceptation, theory means the completed result of philosophical induction from experience.
-
The underlying principles or methods of a given technical skill, art etc., as opposed to its practice.
Lopukhov wrote a number of books and articles on ballet theory, as well as his memoirs.
Opposite: praxis
- A field of study attempting to exhaustively describe a particular class of constructs. Knot theory classifies the mappings of a circle into 3-space.
- A set of axioms together with all statements derivable from them; or, a set of statements which are deductively closed. Equivalently, a formal language plus a set of axioms (from which can then be derived theorems). The statements may be required to all be bound (i.e., to have no free variables). A theory is consistent if it has a model.
-
The standardization and study of fixed sequences of moves, especially in the opening phase of a game.
Near-synonym: joseki
Similar: joseki
- Mental conception; reflection, consideration.
- A hypothesis or conjecture.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hypothesis, possibility, statistically, textbook, addressed, literature, dissertation, scenario, thesis, theoretic, theorizing, rhetoric, theoretical, conceptually, theoretically, philosophy
Translations
Every language
noun a coherent set of statements attempting to explain observed phenomena
| Español | teoría |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 이론 iron, 학설 hakseol |
| 日本語 | 理論 riron, 学説 gakusetsu |
| 中文 | 理論 /理论 lǐlùn, 學說 /学说 xuéshuō |
| हिन्दी | सिद्धांत siddhānt, नज़रिया nazriyā, तथ्य tathya |
| Português | teoria |
| Français | théorie |
| Deutsch | Theorie |
| Italiano | teoria |
| Ελληνικά | θεωρία theoría |
| Română | teorie |
| Русский | тео́рия teórija |
| Tiếng Việt | lý thuyết, lý luận, học thuyết, thuyết |
| العربية | نَظَرِيَّة naẓariyya |
| עברית | תּוֹרָה torá, תֵּאוֹרְיָה teórya |
noun a field of study in mathematics
| Español | teoría |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 定理 teiri, 理論 riron, 学説 gakusetsu |
| 中文 | 理論 /理论 lǐlùn, 學說 /学说 xuéshuō |
| हिन्दी | सिद्धांत siddhānt |
| Português | teoria |
| Français | théorie |
| Deutsch | Theorie |
| Italiano | teoria |
| Ελληνικά | θεωρία theoría |
| Română | teorie |
| Русский | тео́рия teórija |
Talk about this word "theory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/theory. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. theory. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/theory "theory." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/theory.Cite this
@misc{theory_2026,
title = {theory},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/theory},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
