Dictionary

hypothesize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /hɪˈpɒθ.ɪ.saɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /haɪˈpɑ.θəˌsaɪz/ (General-American, dialectal) of Canada
• [hɑe̯ˈpɔ̟θ.ə.sɑe̯z] (New-Zealand)
• [hʌɪˈpɑ.θəˌsaɪz] (General-American, dialectal) of Canada; Canadian raising
• /haɪˈpɒθ.ə.saɪz/ (New-Zealand)
• /haɪˈpɒθ.ɪ.saɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /həˈpɒθ.ɪ.saɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /hɑeˈpɔθ.ə.sɑez/ (Australia)
• (Mid-Atlantic, US) audio
• /haɪˈpɒθ.əˌsaɪz/ (Canada, dialectal) of the US
• [hʌɪˈpɒθ.əˌsaɪz] (Canada, dialectal) of the US; Canadian raising
• /-ə.saɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree English hypothesis Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English hypothesize From hypothesis + -ize.

Meanings

1. (British, English, Oxford, US, ambitransitive) To assume or assert tentatively on uncertain grounds.
   • When hormones signal breast cells to divide more rapidly, scientists hypothesize, they increase breast cancer risk by causing precancerous or cancerous cells to multiply. 1996, Public Health Reports, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration:
   • Dahood hypothesizes an occurrence of a verb rihham ('to conceive, enwomb') 2007, John Goldingay, David Payne, Isaiah 40-55 Vol 2: A Critical and Exegetical Commentary, Continuum International Publishing Group, →ISBN:
   • I don’t dispute that some cases of this sort—involving a subject who differentially doubts what, pretheoretically, we would take to be one and the same thought-content, entertained twice—might be best described by hypothesizing a difference in content. 2007 December 29, Sanford Goldberg, “Must Differences in Cognitive Value be Transparent?”, in Erkenntnis, volume 69, number 2, →DOI:
   • Census response is thus a reasonable proxy for civicminded attitudes and cooperation that are hypothesized to improve governmental performance. 2000, Stephen F. Knack, Social Capital and the Quality of Government: Evidence from the United States, page 11:

Forms

Deriveds

rehypothesize · unhypothesized · hypothesizer

Relateds

hypothetical · hypothesizable

Synonyms

fancy · reckon · theorize · guess · presume · ween · conject · foreguess · go out on a limb · guess · overhope · posit · hypotheticate · conjecture · assume · infer · suspect · arread · take for granted · hypothesize · suppose · surmise · hunch · take something as read · postulate · speculate · hypotheticate · take a stab at · guesstimate · imagine · dope · daresay

Translations (33)

cmn 推測 /推测 (to believe or assert) · cs hypotetizovat (to believe or assert) · sq supozoj (to believe or assert) · es hipotetizar (to believe or assert) · is setja fram tilgátu (to believe or assert) · fi arvuutella (to believe or assert) · sk hypotetizovať (to believe or assert) · fr émettre l'hypothèse (to believe or assert) · mi marohi (to believe or assert) · de vermuten (to believe or assert) · uk робити припущення (to believe or assert) · is ganga út frá (to believe or assert) · mi mārohirohi (to believe or assert) · sq hamendësoj (to believe or assert) · cmn 假設 /假设 (to believe or assert) · is leggja fram tilgátu (to believe or assert) · is gera ráð fyrir (to believe or assert) · fi jossitella (to believe or assert) · uk будувати гіпотезу (to believe or assert) · fr faire l'hypothèse (to believe or assert) · da hypotetisere (to believe or assert) · ro emite ipoteze (to believe or assert) · bg предполагам (to believe or assert) · is gefa sér (to believe or assert) · ja 仮定する (to believe or assert) · pt supor (to believe or assert) · sv hypotetisera (to believe or assert) · ro face ipoteze (to believe or assert) · uk висувати гіпотезу (to believe or assert) · fr supposer (to believe or assert) · it ipotizzare (to believe or assert) · fi arvailla (to believe or assert) · is setja sem svo að (to believe or assert)