thesis

[thee-sis]

noun

plural

theses 

1. a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections.

   He vigorously defended his thesis on the causes of war.

   Synonyms: proposal, contention, theory

2. a subject for a composition or essay.

3. a dissertation on a particular subject in which one has done original research, as one presented by a candidate for a diploma or degree.

4. Music.,  the downward stroke in conducting; downbeat.

5. Prosody.

   1. a part of a metrical foot that does not bear the ictus or stress.

   2. (less commonly) the part of a metrical foot that bears the ictus.

6. Philosophy.,  Hegelian dialectic

thesis

/ ˈθiːsɪs /

noun

1. a dissertation resulting from original research, esp when submitted by a candidate for a degree or diploma

2. a doctrine maintained or promoted in argument

3. a subject for a discussion or essay

4. an unproved statement, esp one put forward as a premise in an argument

5. music the downbeat of a bar, as indicated in conducting

6. (in classical prosody) the syllable or part of a metrical foot not receiving the ictus Compare arsis

7. philosophy the first stage in the Hegelian dialectic, that is challenged by the antithesis

thesis

1. The central idea in a piece of writing, sometimes contained in a topic sentence.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thesis¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin, from Greek thésis “a setting down, something set down,” equivalent to the- (stem of tithénai “to put, set down”) + -sis noun suffix; -sis

Word History and Origins

Origin of thesis¹

C16: via Late Latin from Greek: a placing, from tithenai to place

Example Sentences

As a graduate student in the 1980s, Yann LeCun had trouble finding an adviser for his Ph.D. thesis on machine learning—because no one else was studying the topic, he recalled later.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A guy from a rating agency on whom Charlie tested Cornwall’s investment thesis looked at him strangely and asked, “Are you sure you guys know what you’re doing?”

Read more on Literature

The thesis has largely played out, though it hit a stumbling point on Nov. 5, with the stock down almost 9% after reporting earnings.

Read more on Barron's

“Our sense remains that the core of the AI thesis remains intact and would probably survive a continued separating of the wheat from the chaff in the frothier parts of the equity market.”

Read more on Barron's

“While we believe there is more room for mNAV compression, the thesis has largely played out,” he said.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• contention 
• hypothesis 
• opinion 
• premise 
• proposition 
• supposition 
• theory 

When To Use

Plural word for thesis

The plural form of thesis is theses, pronounced [ thee-seez ]. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -is are also formed in this way, including hypothesis/hypotheses, crisis/crises, and axis/axes. A similar change is made when pluralizing appendix as appendices. Irregular plurals that are formed like theses derive directly from their original pluralization in Latin and Greek.