thesis

the·sis
T1H4E1S1I1S1
UK/ˈθiːsɪs/UK, archaic/ˈθɛsɪs/US/ˈθisɪs/UK/ˈθiːsiːz/

noun

A proposition or statement supported by arguments.

Similar
dissertation
Opposite
arsis
OriginMiddle English thesis ← Latin thesis ← Ancient Greek θέσῐς →
CommonScrabble 9
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Word of the Day · Mar 16, 2024

Meanings

nounthesis (plural theses)

plural theses

  1. Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.
    1. rhetoricA proposition or statement supported by arguments.

      I submit these nine theses to Wikipedia’s community and to the world. I do this, as Martin Luther said when he posted his famous 95 theses, “Out of love for the truth and the desire to elucidate it.” […] I am confident that every thesis stands on solid ground.

      2025 September 30, Larry Sanger, “Nine Theses on Wikipedia”, in larrysanger.org
    2. broadlyA lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis (sense 1.1), especially one submitted in order to complete the requirements for a non-doctoral degree in the US and a doctoral degree in the UK; a dissertation.

      I told them of the grave, becoming, and ſublime deportment they ſhould aſſume upon this myſtical occaſion, and read them two homilies and a theſis of my own compoſing, in order to prepare them.

      1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “The Conclusion”, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume II, Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC, pages 218–219
    3. computerA conjecture, especially one too vague to be formally stated or verified but useful as a working convention.
    4. human sciencesAn affirmation, or distinction from a supposition or hypothesis.
    5. human sciencesIn the dialectical method of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: the initial stage of reasoning where a formal statement of a point is developed; this is followed by antithesis and synthesis.
  2. Senses relating to music and prosody.
    1. originallyentertainmentThe action of lowering the hand or bringing down the foot when indicating a rhythm; hence, an accented part of a measure of music or verse indicated by this action; an ictus, a stress.

      Antonyms: arsis

    2. entertainmentA depression of the voice when pronouncing a syllables of a word; hence, the unstressed part of the metrical foot of a verse upon which such a depression falls, or an unaccented musical note.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe action of lowering the hand or bringing down the foot when indicating a rhythm; hence, an accented part of a measure of music or verse indicated by this action; an ictus, a stress.

Opposite
arsis

More synonyms by meaning

nouna treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree

Similar
dissertation
Broader
treatise
Also see
dissertationhypothesis

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekθέσεις
  2. Latinthesēs
  3. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-“to do; to place, put”
  4. Ancient Greekθέσῐς“arrangement, placement, setting; conclusion, position, thesis; lowering of the voice”
  5. Latinthesis“proposition, thesis; lowering of the voice”
  6. Middle Englishthesis“lowering of the voice”
  7. Englishthesis

From Late Middle English thesis (“lowering of the voice”) and also borrowed directly from its etymon Latin thesis (“proposition, thesis; lowering of the voice”), from Ancient Greek θέσῐς (thésĭs, “arrangement, placement, setting; conclusion, position, thesis; lowering of the voice”), from τῐ́θημῐ (tĭ́thēmĭ, “to place, put, set; to put down in writing; to consider as, regard”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”)) + -σῐς (-sĭs, suffix forming abstract nouns or nouns of action, process, or result). The English word is a doublet of deed. Sense 1.1 (“proposition or statement supported by arguments”) is adopted from antithesis. Sense 1.4 (“initial stage of reasoning”) was first used by the German philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), and later applied to the dialectical method of his countryman, the philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831). The plural form theses is borrowed from Latin thesēs, from Ancient Greek θέσεις (théseis).

More words from Middle English, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek θέσῐς, θέσῐς
  • θέσῐς (thésĭs)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • θέσῐς (thésĭs)depression of the voice when pronouncing a syllables of a word; hence, the unstressed part of the metrical foot of a verse upon which such a depression falls, or an unaccented musical note
Arabic أُطْرُوحَة
  • أُطْرُوحَة (ʔuṭrūḥa)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Bulgarian те́за, те́зис
  • те́за (téza)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • те́зис (tézis)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • дисерта́ция (disertácija)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • дипломна работа (diplomna rabota)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • теза (teza)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Catalan tesi, tesi
  • tesiproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tesilengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • tesi doctorallengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Chinese Cantonese 論點 /论点, 論題 /论题
  • 論點 /论点 (leon⁶ dim²)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論題 /论题 (leon⁶ tai⁴)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論文 /论文lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Chinese Mandarin 論點 /论点, 論題 /论题
  • 論點 /论点 (lùndiǎn)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論題 /论题 (lùntí)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論文 /论文 (lùnwén)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Czech teze, diplomová práce
  • tezeproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • diplomová prácelengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Danish tesis, tese
  • tesisproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • teseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • afhandlinglengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • disputatslengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • specialelengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Dutch these, thesis
  • theseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • thesislengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • proefschriftlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • scriptielengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Esperanto tezo
  • tezoproposition or statement supported by arguments
Estonian tees, diplomitöö
  • teesproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • diplomitöölengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Finnish teesi, väite
  • teesiproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • väiteproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tutkielmalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • opinnäytetyölengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • diplomityölengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • väitöskirjalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
French thèse, thèse
  • thèseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • thèselengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German These, Abschlussarbeit
  • Theseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • Abschlussarbeitlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • Bachelorarbeitlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • Masterarbeitlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • Diplomarbeitlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • Doktorarbeitlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • Dissertationlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hebrew תֶּזָה
  • תֶּזָה (téza)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hungarian tézis, diplomamunka
  • tézisproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • diplomamunkalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • disszertációlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • szakdolgozatlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Indonesian disertasi
  • disertasilengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Italian tesi, tema
  • tesiproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • temaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tesilengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Japanese テーゼ, 論題
  • テーゼ (tēze)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論題 (rondai)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 主張 (shuchō)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 定立 (teiritsu)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 論文 (ronbun)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Korean 테제, 논제
  • 테제 (teje)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 논제 (nonje)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 론제 (ronje)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • 논문 (nonmun)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • 론문 (ronmun)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Latin thesis, thesis
  • thesisproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • thesisdepression of the voice when pronouncing a syllables of a word; hence, the unstressed part of the metrical foot of a verse upon which such a depression falls, or an unaccented musical note
Latvian disertācija
  • disertācijalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Lithuanian disertacija
  • disertacijalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Malay tesis, tesis
  • tesisproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tesislengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Māori tuhinga whakapae, tuhinga whakapae
  • tuhinga whakapaeproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tuhinga whakapaelengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Norwegian Bokmål tese, avhandling
  • teseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • avhandlinglengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Polish teza, dysertacja
  • tezaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • dysertacjalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • praca dyplomowalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Portuguese tese, tese
  • teseproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • teselengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Romanian teză, disertație
  • tezălengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • disertațielengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Russian те́зис, положе́ние
  • те́зис (tɛ́zis)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • положе́ние (položénije)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • диссерта́ция (dissertácija)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • дипло́мная рабо́та (diplómnaja rabóta)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Slovak téza, diplomová práca
  • tézaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • diplomová prácalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • dizertácialengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Spanish tesis, tesis doctoral
  • tesisproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tesis doctorallengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • tesinalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Swedish tes, dissertation
  • tesproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • dissertationlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • avhandlinglengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Tagalog tikha, katikhaan
  • tikhaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • katikhaanproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tikhalengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Thai วิทยานิพนธ์, ปริญญานิพนธ์
  • วิทยานิพนธ์ (wít-tá-yaa-ní-pon)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • ปริญญานิพนธ์ (bpà-rin-yaa-ní-pon)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • นิพนธ์ (ní-pon)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Turkish tez, dava
  • tezproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • davaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • iddiaproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • savproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • tezlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • bilimsel tezlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • bitirme tezilengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Ukrainian те́за, те́зис
  • те́за (téza)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • те́зис (tézys)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • поло́ження (polóžennja)proposition or statement supported by arguments
  • дисерта́ція (dysertácija)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • дипло́мна робо́та (dyplómna robóta)lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Vietnamese luận đề, đồ án tốt nghiệp
  • luận đềproposition or statement supported by arguments
  • đồ án tốt nghiệplengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
  • luận vănlengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with thesis

speciesfeceskinesiscytokinesismimesisdiuresisarthrodesisnatriuresisdiaphoresisanuresisascesisathetesisautonoesisbiokinesiscryokinesis-desisdiegesisepithesisparasympathomimesispedesispleurodesisschesissympathomimesissyndesis
All rhymes →

Anagrams

TheissEstish
Cite this entry
APA

thesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thesis

MLA

“thesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thesis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thesis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thesis.

Source: thesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.