Phrase guide

five-minute hypothesis

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The skeptical hypothesis that the world came into existence, with all apparent signs of history and the past fully-formed, only five minutes ago.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

First thought up by and probably coined by Bertrand Russell.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Japanese: 世界5分前仮設 (sekai gofun mae kasetsu) — Translations