What's the difference between idea and theory?

Idea


Definition:

  • (n.) The transcript, image, or picture of a visible object, that is formed by the mind; also, a similar image of any object whatever, whether sensible or spiritual.
  • (n.) A general notion, or a conception formed by generalization.
  • (n.) Hence: Any object apprehended, conceived, or thought of, by the mind; a notion, conception, or thought; the real object that is conceived or thought of.
  • (n.) A belief, option, or doctrine; a characteristic or controlling principle; as, an essential idea; the idea of development.
  • (n.) A plan or purpose of action; intention; design.
  • (n.) A rational conception; the complete conception of an object when thought of in all its essential elements or constituents; the necessary metaphysical or constituent attributes and relations, when conceived in the abstract.
  • (n.) A fiction object or picture created by the imagination; the same when proposed as a pattern to be copied, or a standard to be reached; one of the archetypes or patterns of created things, conceived by the Platonists to have excited objectively from eternity in the mind of the Deity.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Virtually every developed country has some form of property tax, so the idea that valuing residential property is uniquely difficult, or that it would be widely evaded, is nonsense.
  • (2) In this book, he dismisses Freud's idea of penis envy - "Freud got it spectacularly wrong" - and said "women don't envy the penis.
  • (3) A backbench policy advisory group will be established to develop ideas.
  • (4) The idea that 80% of an engineer's time is spent on the day job and 20% pursuing a personal project is a mathematician's solution to innovation, Brin says.
  • (5) More disturbing than his ideas was Malema's style and tone.
  • (6) These data, compared with literature findings, support the idea that intratumoral BCG instillation of bladder cancer permits a longer disease-free period than other therapeutical approaches.
  • (7) The starting point is the idea that the current system, because it works against biodiversity but fails to increase productivity, is broken.
  • (8) Unlikely, he laughs: "We were founded on the idea of distributing information as far as possible."
  • (9) On 17 December Clegg will set out his own script for the year ahead, testing the idea that coalition governments can function even as the two parties clearly show their separate colours.
  • (10) This is about the best experience for our users: the idea that the experience was lacking, the innovation was lacking and we weren't reaching that ubiquity."
  • (11) Bose grew up with the idea, as the child of a well-to-do Bengali family in Kolkata.
  • (12) The observations support the idea that the function of pericytes in the choriocapillaris, the major source of nutrition for the retinal photoreceptors, resides in their contractility, and that pericytes do not remove necrotic endothelium during capillary atrophy.
  • (13) He was really an English public schoolboy, but I welcome the idea of people who are in some ways not Scottish, yet are committed to Scotland.
  • (14) Differences in scar depression also supported the idea of more stretching in the Dexon group.
  • (15) These results are consistent with the idea that RPE pigment dispersion is triggered by a substance that diffuses from the retina at light onset.
  • (16) These conclusions are consistent with those obtained from other techniques and support the idea that the effects of dopamine agonists on the activity of dopamine neurons and globus pallidus cells can provide an indication of the relative selectivity of these drugs for pre- or postsynaptic dopamine receptors.
  • (17) They also dismiss those who suggest that the current record-low interest rates mean countries could safely stimulate growth by raising their borrowing levels higher: Economists simply have little idea how long it will be until rates begin to rise.
  • (18) These results favour the idea that the factor present in peak II fraction might behave as an ouabain-like substance.
  • (19) You could also chat to local estate agents to get an idea of what kind of extension, if any, would appeal to buyers in your area.
  • (20) When the alternatives are considered, it seems most consistent with Piaget's ideas to regard both cognitive and affective phenomena as problem-solving organizations.

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.