alternative hypothesis

American  

noun

1. (in the statistical testing of a hypothesis) the hypothesis to be accepted if the null hypothesis is rejected.

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alternative hypothesis British  

noun

1. statistics 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

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Compare meaning

How does alternative-hypothesis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• null hypothesis vs. alternative hypothesis

Example Sentences

The claim will always be in the alternative hypothesis because the burden of proof always lies with the alternative.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

There is sufficient evidence to conclude that H0 is an incorrect belief and that the alternative hypothesis, Ha, may be correct.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

This could be seen by the statement of the alternative hypothesis as μ ≠ 100, in this example.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

This was called a two-tailed test because the alternative hypothesis allowed that the mean could have come from a population which was either larger or smaller than the hypothesized mean in the null hypothesis.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

If they aren’t, you throw out the assumption, sometimes provisionally accepting an alternative hypothesis.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos