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theory
verbs
come up with/develop a theory
• These birds helped Darwin develop his theory of natural selection.
test a theory
• Researchers gave workers a questionnaire to test that theory.
prove a theory
• No evidence emerged to prove either theory.
support a theory
• Modern research strongly supports this theory.
disprove a theory
( also refute a theory formal ) (= show that it is wrong )
• Later experiments seemed to disprove the theory.
discredit a theory
(= make people stop believing in it )
• These latest findings discredit his entire theory.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + theory
a scientific theory
• Scientific theories can be tested experimentally.
an economic theory
• His economic theory assumes that both labour and capital are perfectly mobile.
a conspiracy theory
(= a theory that an event was the result of secret plan made by two or more people )
• A variety of conspiracy theories question the official account of President Kennedy’s assassination.
a pet theory
(= a personal theory that you strongly believe )
• Each of them had his pet theory on what had caused the uprising.
phrases
the theory of evolution/relativity etc
• According to the theory of relativity, nothing can travel faster than light.
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noun ADJ. complete | partial | general Einstein's general theory of relativity | coherent | unified the existence of a grand unified theory that determines everything in the universe | current, new | classical the classical theory of gravity | pet One of her pet theories is that people who restrict their calorie intake live longer. | conflicting | critical | abstract His comments are just abstract theory and show little understanding of the realities of the situation. | economic, legal, linguistic, literary, political, scientific, social, etc. | post-modernist, structuralist, etc. Current feminist theory consists of several different trends. | conspiracy a conspiracy theory about the princess's death | chaos, game, quantum, number, particle, probability, relativity, etc. QUANT. set Each school has its own set of theories. VERB + THEORY have, hold | advance, develop, formulate, produce, propose | work on Police are working on the theory that the murderer was known to the family. | refute | confirm, prove | disprove | challenge, test THEORY + VERB evolve | hold sth, suggest sth PREP. in ~ In theory, these machines should last for ten years. | ~ about He has a theory about why dogs walk round in circles before going to sleep. PHRASES theory and practice the distinction/relationship between theory and practice
Oxford Collocations Dictionary