| n. | 1. | A doctrine, or scheme of things, which terminates in speculation or contemplation, without a view to practice; hypothesis; speculation. | |||
| 2. | An exposition of the general or abstract principles of any science; | ||||
| 3. | The science, as distinguished from the art; | ||||
| 4. | The philosophical explanation of phenomena, either physical or moral;
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| Noun | 1. | theory - a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory" |
| 2. | theory - 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 of alkalis that later was accepted in chemical practices" Synonyms: hypothesis, possibility | |
| 3. | theory - a belief that can guide behavior; "the architect has a theory that more is less"; "they killed him on the theory that dead men tell no tales" |
| theory - The consensus, idea, plan, story, or set of rules that is currently being used to inform a behaviour. This usage is a generalisation and (deliberate) abuse of the technical meaning. "What's the theory on fixing this TECO loss?" "What's the theory on dinner tonight?" ("Chinatown, I guess.") "What's the current theory on letting lusers on during the day?" "The theory behind this change is to fix the following well-known screw...." |