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theoretician

American

[thee-er-i-tish-uhn, theer-i-] / ˌθi ər ɪˈtɪʃ ən, ˌθɪər ɪ- /

noun

a person who deals with or is expert in the theoretical side of a subject.

a military theoretician.

theoretician British

/ ˌθɪərɪˈtɪʃən /

noun

a student or user of the theory rather than the practical aspects of a subject

"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 theoretician

First recorded in 1885–90; theoretic(s) + -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.

Another candidate, Ayatollah Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, is an Islamic philosopher and theoretician.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

He was influenced by Sayyid Qutb, the Sunni Egyptian theoretician of the Muslim Brotherhood who propagated the idea of an Islamic Republic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

I thought of Alan Chodos, a theoretician who thinks outside the box.

From Scientific American • Jun. 7, 2023

And it ends with one of them stepping on a butterfly and changing the course of history — 20 years before the chaos theoretician Edward Norton Lorenz propounded the “butterfly effect.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2023

Robert Oppenheimer was the leading theoretician in the nation.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023