What's the difference between hypothesis and theory?

Hypothesis


Definition:

  • (n.) A supposition; a proposition or principle which is supposed or taken for granted, in order to draw a conclusion or inference for proof of the point in question; something not proved, but assumed for the purpose of argument, or to account for a fact or an occurrence; as, the hypothesis that head winds detain an overdue steamer.
  • (n.) A tentative theory or supposition provisionally adopted to explain certain facts, and to guide in the investigation of others; hence, frequently called a working hypothesis.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The hypothesis that proteins are critical targets in free radical mediated cytolysis was tested using U937 mononuclear phagocytes as targets and iron together with hydrogen peroxide to generate radicals.
  • (2) The generally accepted hypothesis is a coronary spasm but a direct cardiotoxicity of 5-FU cannot be.
  • (3) The results of our microscopic model confirm that the continuum hypothesis used in our previous macroscopic model is reasonable.
  • (4) The authors empirically studied the self-medication hypothesis of drug abuse by examining drug effects and motivation for drug use in 494 hospitalized drug abusers.
  • (5) Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that fresh bat guano serves as a means of pathogenic fungi dissemination in caves.
  • (6) The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that the decreased Epi response following ET was due to 1) depletion of adrenal Epi content such that adrenomedullary stimulation would not release Epi, 2) decreased Epi release with direct stimulation, i.e., desensitization of release, or 3) decreased afferent signals generated by ET itself.
  • (7) Implications of the theory for hypothesis testing, theory construction, and scales of measurement are considered.
  • (8) The 14-fold increase in prolonged apnea frequency immediately following regurgitation supports the hypothesis for a causal relationship between apnea and regurgitation.
  • (9) The hypothesis that experimentally determined survival times of Treponema pallidum in stored donor blood could be related to the number of treponemes initially present in the treponeme-blood mixtures was investigated by inoculating rabbits with three graded doses of treponemes suspended in donor blood and stored at 4 degrees C for various periods of time.
  • (10) Following the hypothesis that infertile patients may present emotional conflicts with regard to the wish of having a child, psychodynamic interviews were carried out with 116 infertile couples concomitantly with their first consultation at the Sterility Department.
  • (11) Results were inconsistent with both the feature detector fatigue and response bias hypothesis.
  • (12) This hypothesis is supported by our recent report that immunoreactive human PRL (ir-hPRL) is produced by and required for the continuous growth of sfRamos, a Burkitt tumor serum-free cell line.
  • (13) This hypothesis is difficult to substantiate with direct measurements using human subjects.
  • (14) We tested the hypothesis that furosemide interferes with energy generation in the cochlea, and determined its effect on CO2 formation from glucose and glyceroaldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) activity by examining biochemical and histochemical changes in the cochlea, the kidney, and the liver.
  • (15) Our data support the hypothesis that evoked and epileptiform magnetic fields result from intradendritic currents oriented perpendicular to the cortical surface.
  • (16) This observation seriously challenges the hypothesis that SCE cancellation results as a consequence of persistence of the lesions induced by these agents.
  • (17) The hypothesis that the standard acoustic startle habituation paradigm contains the elements of Pavlovian fear conditioning was tested.
  • (18) In this study we tested the hypothesis that regardless of concentration pattern and exposure rate the same exposure dose of O3 will induce the same spirometric response.
  • (19) We put forward the hypothesis that the agglutinability in acriflavine, together with the PAGE profile type II, may be associated with particular structures responsible for virulence.
  • (20) After an introductory note on primary preventive intervention of breast cancer during adulthood, the author defends and extends a hypothesis that relates most of the known risk factors for this disease to the development of preneoplastic lesions in the breast.

Theory


Definition:

  • (n.) A doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation.
  • (n.) An exposition of the general or abstract principles of any science; as, the theory of music.
  • (n.) The science, as distinguished from the art; as, the theory and practice of medicine.
  • (n.) The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral; as, Lavoisier's theory of combustion; Adam Smith's theory of moral sentiments.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) This theory was confirmed by product analysis and by measuring the affinity of the substrate for the enzyme by its inhibition of p-nitrophenyl glucoside hydrolysis.
  • (2) The position of the cyst supports the theory that branchial cysts are congenital in origin.
  • (3) It helped pay the bills and caused me to ponder on the disconnection between theory and reality.
  • (4) Implications of the theory for hypothesis testing, theory construction, and scales of measurement are considered.
  • (5) This observation, reinforced by simultaneous determinations of cortisol levels in the internal spermatic and antecubital veins, practically excluded the validity of the theory of adrenal hormonal suppression of testicular tissues.
  • (6) In 1935, Einstein challenged the prevailing interpretation of quantum theory.
  • (7) These results are interpreted in terms of the accessory binding site theory of Ariëns, and suggest the existence of different accessory binding sites on the Ascaris GABA receptor.
  • (8) September 11 conspiracies Facebook Twitter Pinterest September 11 conspiracy theories.
  • (9) This theory is supported by a previous experimental report.
  • (10) On the assumption of a distribution in properties of the suspension according to the theory of Bruggeman, the capacitance is calculated to have a value of about one half this.5.
  • (11) These findings do not support the theory that 5-HT1C receptor activation causes migraine.
  • (12) Only one part of the theory of Alajouanine and colleagues has been confirmed by our experiments for our results have shown that there is a very close correlation between semantic paraphasias and disorders of semantic differentiation whilst no correlation can be found between phonemic paraphasias and disturbances in auditory phonemic discrimination.
  • (13) A new theory for the peculiar site selection of cholesteatomas of the external auditory canal is postulated.
  • (14) However, our theory differs in several important respects from the latter efforts.
  • (15) This paper provides an overview of the theory, indicating its contributions--such as a basis for individual psychotherapy of severe disorders and a more effective understanding of countertransference--and its shortcomings--such as lack of an explanation for the effects of physical and cognitive factors on object relatedness.
  • (16) The various theories of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) are reviewed.
  • (17) Comparison with values predicted from theory shows that the distribution of protein among the various cross-linked species, obtained after different extents of exposure to cross-linker, is consistent with a two-layered arrangement of subunits involving one type of interaction between subunits from different layers and another between subunits within the same layer.
  • (18) For each theory, a constraint on preformance is proposed based on interference between the "analytic" and "synthetic" pitch perception modes.
  • (19) Republican presidential hopeful Scott Walker has refused to say whether he believes in the theory of evolution, arguing that it is “a question a politician shouldn’t be involved in one way or the other”.
  • (20) These findings support the theory that plasma-membrane-cytoskeleton interactions have a role in the expression of specific immunity; the findings also identify new areas that should be considered in trying to understand the primary immunodeficiency diseases.