the hypothesis that given data do not conform with a given null hypothesis: the null hypothesis is accepted only if its probability exceeds a predetermined significance level
Compare hypothesis testing, null hypothesis
alternative hypothesis in American English
noun
(in the statistical testing of a hypothesis)
the hypothesis to be accepted if the null hypothesis is rejected
Examples of 'alternative hypothesis' in a sentence
alternative hypothesis
The alternative hypothesis is that it was really good, albeit studded with slight oddities.