1. a tentative theory about 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"; "he proposed a fresh theory
2. a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence
3. a proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations

Similar Words: possibility, theory, guess, conjecture, supposition, surmise, surmisal, speculation

Hyponyms: model, theoretical account, framework, speculation, conjecture, assumption, supposition, supposal, divination

Part Meronyms: theory

Derivational Morphology: speculate, theorize, theorise, conjecture, hypothesize, hypothesise, hypothecate, suppose, surmise, suspect, say, think, opine, imagine, reckon, guess, estimate, gauge, approximate, judge, venture, pretend, hazard