thesis another word in english

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Definition of thesis noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• Students must submit a thesis on an agreed subject within four years.
• He presented this thesis for his PhD.
• a thesis for a master's degree
• He's doing a doctoral thesis on the early works of Shostakovich.
• Many departments require their students to do a thesis defense.
• She completed an MSc by thesis.
• her thesis adviser at MIT
• in a/​the thesis
• thesis about

Questions about grammar and vocabulary?

Find the answers with Practical English Usage online, your indispensable guide to problems in English.

• The basic thesis of the book is fairly simple.
• These latest findings support the thesis that sexuality is determined by nature rather than choice.
• formulate/​advance a theory/​hypothesis
• build/​construct/​create/​develop a simple/​theoretical/​mathematical model
• develop/​establish/​provide/​use a theoretical/​conceptual framework
• advance/​argue/​develop the thesis that…
• explore an idea/​a concept/​a hypothesis
• make a prediction/​an inference
• base a prediction/​your calculations on something
• investigate/​evaluate/​accept/​challenge/​reject a theory/​hypothesis/​model
• design an experiment/​a questionnaire/​a study/​a test
• do research/​an experiment/​an analysis
• make observations/​measurements/​calculations
• carry out/​conduct/​perform an experiment/​a test/​a longitudinal study/​observations/​clinical trials
• run an experiment/​a simulation/​clinical trials
• repeat an experiment/​a test/​an analysis
• replicate a study/​the results/​the findings
• observe/​study/​examine/​investigate/​assess a pattern/​a process/​a behaviour
• fund/​support the research/​project/​study
• seek/​provide/​get/​secure funding for research
• collect/​gather/​extract data/​information
• yield data/​evidence/​similar findings/​the same results
• analyse/​examine the data/​soil samples/​a specimen
• consider/​compare/​interpret the results/​findings
• fit the data/​model
• confirm/​support/​verify a prediction/​a hypothesis/​the results/​the findings
• prove a conjecture/​hypothesis/​theorem
• draw/​make/​reach the same conclusions
• read/​review the records/​literature
• describe/​report an experiment/​a study
• present/​publish/​summarize the results/​findings
• present/​publish/​read/​review/​cite a paper in a scientific journal
• The results of the experiment support his central thesis.
• Most people rejected this thesis at the time because it presumed evolution rather than creation.
• fundamental

Nearby words

Think of yourself as a member of a jury, listening to a lawyer who is presenting an opening argument. You'll want to know very soon whether the lawyer believes the accused to be guilty or not guilty, and how the lawyer plans to convince you. Readers of academic essays are like jury members: before they have read too far, they want to know what the essay argues as well as how the writer plans to make the argument. After reading your thesis statement, the reader should think, "This essay is going to try to convince me of something. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm interested to see how I might be."

An effective thesis cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." A thesis is not a topic; nor is it a fact; nor is it an opinion. "Reasons for the fall of communism" is a topic. "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" is a fact known by educated people. "The fall of communism is the best thing that ever happened in Europe" is an opinion. (Superlatives like "the best" almost always lead to trouble. It's impossible to weigh every "thing" that ever happened in Europe. And what about the fall of Hitler? Couldn't that be "the best thing"?)

A good thesis has two parts. It should tell what you plan to argue, and it should "telegraph" how you plan to argue—that is, what particular support for your claim is going where in your essay.

Steps in Constructing a Thesis

First, analyze your primary sources.  Look for tension, interest, ambiguity, controversy, and/or complication. Does the author contradict himself or herself? Is a point made and later reversed? What are the deeper implications of the author's argument? Figuring out the why to one or more of these questions, or to related questions, will put you on the path to developing a working thesis. (Without the why, you probably have only come up with an observation—that there are, for instance, many different metaphors in such-and-such a poem—which is not a thesis.)

Once you have a working thesis, write it down.  There is nothing as frustrating as hitting on a great idea for a thesis, then forgetting it when you lose concentration. And by writing down your thesis you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. You probably will not be able to write out a final-draft version of your thesis the first time you try, but you'll get yourself on the right track by writing down what you have.

Keep your thesis prominent in your introduction.  A good, standard place for your thesis statement is at the end of an introductory paragraph, especially in shorter (5-15 page) essays. Readers are used to finding theses there, so they automatically pay more attention when they read the last sentence of your introduction. Although this is not required in all academic essays, it is a good rule of thumb.

Anticipate the counterarguments.  Once you have a working thesis, you should think about what might be said against it. This will help you to refine your thesis, and it will also make you think of the arguments that you'll need to refute later on in your essay. (Every argument has a counterargument. If yours doesn't, then it's not an argument—it may be a fact, or an opinion, but it is not an argument.)

This statement is on its way to being a thesis. However, it is too easy to imagine possible counterarguments. For example, a political observer might believe that Dukakis lost because he suffered from a "soft-on-crime" image. If you complicate your thesis by anticipating the counterargument, you'll strengthen your argument, as shown in the sentence below.

Some Caveats and Some Examples

A thesis is never a question.  Readers of academic essays expect to have questions discussed, explored, or even answered. A question ("Why did communism collapse in Eastern Europe?") is not an argument, and without an argument, a thesis is dead in the water.

A thesis is never a list.  "For political, economic, social and cultural reasons, communism collapsed in Eastern Europe" does a good job of "telegraphing" the reader what to expect in the essay—a section about political reasons, a section about economic reasons, a section about social reasons, and a section about cultural reasons. However, political, economic, social and cultural reasons are pretty much the only possible reasons why communism could collapse. This sentence lacks tension and doesn't advance an argument. Everyone knows that politics, economics, and culture are important.

A thesis should never be vague, combative or confrontational.  An ineffective thesis would be, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because communism is evil." This is hard to argue (evil from whose perspective? what does evil mean?) and it is likely to mark you as moralistic and judgmental rather than rational and thorough. It also may spark a defensive reaction from readers sympathetic to communism. If readers strongly disagree with you right off the bat, they may stop reading.

An effective thesis has a definable, arguable claim.  "While cultural forces contributed to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the disintegration of economies played the key role in driving its decline" is an effective thesis sentence that "telegraphs," so that the reader expects the essay to have a section about cultural forces and another about the disintegration of economies. This thesis makes a definite, arguable claim: that the disintegration of economies played a more important role than cultural forces in defeating communism in Eastern Europe. The reader would react to this statement by thinking, "Perhaps what the author says is true, but I am not convinced. I want to read further to see how the author argues this claim."

A thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.  Avoid overused, general terms and abstractions. For example, "Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe because of the ruling elite's inability to address the economic concerns of the people" is more powerful than "Communism collapsed due to societal discontent."

Copyright 1999, Maxine Rodburg and The Tutors of the Writing Center at Harvard University

Synonyms of 'thesis' in American English

Synonyms of 'thesis' in british english, additional synonyms.

Browse alphabetically thesis

• All ENGLISH synonyms that begin with 'T'

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Synonyms of hypothesis

• as in theory
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Thesaurus Definition of hypothesis

Synonyms & Similar Words

• proposition
• supposition
• speculation
• presumption
• generalization
• presupposition
• abstraction

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun hypothesis differ from other similar words?

The words law and theory are common synonyms of hypothesis . While all three words mean "a formula derived by inference from scientific data that explains a principle operating in nature," hypothesis implies insufficient evidence to provide more than a tentative explanation.

When can law be used instead of hypothesis ?

The synonyms law and hypothesis are sometimes interchangeable, but law implies a statement of order and relation in nature that has been found to be invariable under the same conditions.

In what contexts can theory take the place of hypothesis ?

The words theory and hypothesis can be used in similar contexts, but theory implies a greater range of evidence and greater likelihood of truth.

Articles Related to hypothesis

This is the Difference Between a...

This is the Difference Between a Hypothesis and a Theory

In scientific reasoning, they're two completely different things

Thesaurus Entries Near hypothesis

hypothesize

Cite this Entry

“Hypothesis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypothesis. Accessed 17 May. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on hypothesis

Nglish: Translation of hypothesis for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hypothesis for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about hypothesis

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Astronomers find the biggest known batch of planet ingredients swirling around young star

This composite radio and optical image provided by researchers in May 2024 shows IRAS 23077, center, a planet-forming disk, and several surrounding stars. The star at the center of IRAS 23077 is not visible because its light is blocked by its surrounding disk, which is viewed from the side. The diameter of this colossal disk is roughly 3,300 times the distance between Earth and the sun, with enough gas and dust to form super-sized planets in far-flung orbits, the U.S. and German researchers reported in May 2024. (Radio: SAO/ASIAA/SMA/K. Monsch et al; Optical: Pan-STARRS via AP)

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the biggest known batch of planet-making ingredients swirling around a young star.

The diameter of this colossal disk is roughly 3,300 times the distance between Earth and the sun, with enough gas and dust to form super-sized planets in far-flung orbits, the U.S. and German researchers reported this week.

First spotted in 2016, the disk around a star 1,000 light-years away was not confirmed to be a hotbed for new, emerging planets until recent observations by telescopes in Hawaii. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.

It’s so massive and rich in dust and gas, the building blocks of planets, that scientists can learn more about “the birth and evolution of worlds beyond our own,” said lead author Kristina Monsch of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

This so-called protoplanetary disk looks like a butterfly in the images, according to Monsch. The dark, dusty strip in the middle resembles the elongated body of a butterfly, she said, while the blue and white lobes seem like wings and the two narrow filaments on top the antennae.

Findings were described in Monday’s Astrophysical Journal Letters. Another paper by some of the same researchers also has been accepted for publication.

The disk, designated as IRAS 23077, is about double the size of the previous record-holder, Monsch said.

NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes may be able to discern whether planets the size of Jupiter or even bigger are already forming, Monsch said. Any rocky planets like our own would likely be too small to see and even bigger planet-forming systems are probably out there.

“We just have to look for them,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Synonyms and antonyms of hypothesis in English

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to try to persuade a customer who is already buying something to buy more, or to buy something more expensive

Searching out and tracking down: talking about finding or discovering things

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