THEORISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does theorise mean? 

• THEORISE (verb)
  The verb THEORISE has 1 sense:

1. to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

  Familiarity information: THEORISE used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THEORISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they theorise    ... he / she / it theorises   
Past simple: theorised   
Past participle: theorised   
-ing form: theorising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

conjecture; hypothecate; hypothesise; hypothesize; speculate; suppose; theorise; theorize

Context example:

Scientists supposed that large dinosaurs lived in swamps

Hypernyms (to "theorise" is one way to...):

anticipate; expect (regard something as probable or likely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "theorise"):

construct; reconstruct; retrace (reassemble mentally)

develop; explicate; formulate (elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They theorise that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

theorisation (the production or use of theories)

theoriser (someone who theorizes (especially in science or art))

theory (a tentative insight into the natural world; a concept that is not yet verified but that if true would explain certain facts or phenomena)

theory (a belief that can guide behavior)

 Context examples 

I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)