thesis
/ˈθiːsɪs
/noun (plural theses /ˈθiːsiːz/)
1A statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved: his central thesis is that psychological life is not part of the material world...
- The thesis you put forward equating leftist parties has the same credibility as the joke about Hitler and Stalin.
- My impression of your central thesis is that, contrary to how we may view ourselves as a society, we are in fact a lot more uptight about sex than we'd like to believe.
- Although ingeniously and entertainingly argued with a wealth of detail, the thesis is not conclusively proven.
Synonyms
theory, contention, argument, line of argument, proposal, proposition, premise, assumption, presumption, hypothesis, postulation, surmise, supposition;
belief, idea, notion, opinion, view;
theme, subject, topic, text, matter;
theorem
1.1(In Hegelian philosophy) a proposition forming the first stage in the process of dialectical reasoning. Compare with antithesis, synthesis.Hegel never used the words 'thesis, antithesis, synthesis', as we all know....
- The synthesis is a previously unrecognized direction that contains elements of both the thesis and antithesis.
2A long essay or dissertation involving personal research, written by a candidate for a university degree: a doctoral thesis...
- In traditional paper-based university libraries, higher degree theses and research articles are viewed and treated very differently.
- The book is a compilation of doctoral candidates' dissertations and theses.
- These essays grew out of my Columbia University master's thesis on Hopkins, written in 1942.
Synonyms
dissertation, essay, paper, treatise, disquisition, composition, monograph, study, piece of writing;
North American theme
3ˈθiːsɪsˈθɛsɪs Prosody An unstressed syllable or part of a metrical foot in Greek or Latin verse. Often contrasted with arsis.Such verses often have a pause after the thesis of the second foot also....
- A foot consists of arsis (one long syllable, usually) followed by thesis (another long syllable, or possibly two short ones making up the same amount of time).
Origin
Late Middle English (in sense 3): via late Latin from Greek, literally 'placing, a proposition', from the root of tithenai 'to place'.