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Bayesian

American  
[bay-zee-uhn, -zhuhn] / ˈbeɪ zi ən, -ʒən /

adjective

Statistics.
  1. of or relating to statistical methods that regard parameters of a population as random variables having known probability distributions.


Bayesian British  
/ ˈbeɪzɪən /

adjective

  1. (of a theory) presupposing known a priori probabilities which may be subjectively assessed and which can be revised in the light of experience in accordance with Bayes' theorem. A hypothesis is thus confirmed by an experimental observation which is likely given the hypothesis and unlikely without it Compare maximum likelihood

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Bayesian

1960–65; Thomas Bayes (1702–61), English mathematician + -ian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

His research spans Bayesian statistics and drug safety.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The research titled "The internal ice content of Timpanogos Rock Glacier, Utah, USA from 3-D Bayesian inversion of gravity data," was published Aug. 26 in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026

For some, the Bayesian framework is essentially a working definition of rationality or common sense: As one learns more, one’s views change—whether about the weather or the deadliness of a disease like Covid-19.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

The team performed a Bayesian analysis that compared thousands of theoretical models with the actual gravitational wave signal.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

Darryl and I once tried to write our own better spam filter and when you filter spam, you need Bayesian math.

From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

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