Both Uses of
hypothesis
in
Blood Brothers, by Nora Roberts
- So do their counterparts, so we can hypothesize that those are weapons or countermeasures against him.
p. 293.3 *hypothesize = propose a seemingly reasonable, but unproven, idea based upon known factsstandard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
- Figuring out how they're connected may take a while, but let's just go with the hypothesis that they are, and say, what if.†
p. 101.9
Definitions:
-
(1)
(hypothesis as in: a study to test her hypothesis) a seemingly reasonable, but unproven idea or explanation based upon known factsIn casual conversation, theory is a synonym for hypothesis, but a scientist would say that a hypothesis needs to pass rigorous tests before it could be accepted as a theory.
-
(2)
(hypothesis as in: assume as a working hypothesis) something that may or may not be true, but is temporarily treated as true to advance a discussion or to further investigationThis sense of hypothesis is typically seen in the form, hypothetical, or hypothetically.