noun · 9 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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈθiːsɪs/
Received-Pronunciation, archaic:/ˈθɛsɪs/
Received-Pronunciation:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈθisɪs/
General-American:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -iːsɪs
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈθiːsiːz/
Received-Pronunciation:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈθisiz/
rhymes with -iːsiːz
CMU ARPABET:TH IY1 S AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.
A proposition or statement supported by arguments.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: rhetoric
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.
A 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.
A conjecture, especially one too vague to be formally stated or verified but useful as a working convention.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Senses relating to logic, rhetoric, etc.
In 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
Senses relating to music and prosody.
The 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: arsis
7
noun
Meaning 7
Senses relating to music and prosody.
A 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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
8
noun
Meaning 8
a treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: dissertation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: treatise
9
noun
Meaning 9
an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: premise, premiss, assumption
History
Etymology
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).
Across languages
Translations
160 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Armenian:
թեզ
(tʻez)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Asturian:
tesis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Azerbaijani:
müddəa
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Azerbaijani:
tezis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Belarusian:
тэ́зіс
(tézis)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Belarusian:
палажэ́нне
(palažénnje)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Belarusian:
тэ́за
(téza)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Bulgarian:
те́за
(téza)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Bulgarian:
те́зис
(tézis)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Catalan:
tesi
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Chinese Cantonese:
論點 /论点
(leon6 dim2)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Chinese Cantonese:
論題 /论题
(leon6 tai4)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Chinese Mandarin:
論點 /论点
(lùndiǎn)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Chinese Mandarin:
論題 /论题
(lùntí)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Czech:
teze
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Danish:
tesis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Danish:
tese
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Dutch:
these
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Esperanto:
tezo
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Estonian:
tees
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Finnish:
teesi
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Finnish:
väite
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
French:
thèse
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Galician:
tese
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Georgian:
თეზისი
(tezisi)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
German:
These
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Ancient Greek:
θέσῐς
(thésĭs)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Hungarian:
tézis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Italian:
tesi
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Italian:
tema
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Japanese:
テーゼ
(tēze)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Japanese:
論題
(rondai)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Japanese:
主張
(shuchō)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Japanese:
定立
(teiritsu)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Korean:
테제
(teje)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Korean:
논제
(nonje)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Korean:
론제
(ronje)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Latin:
thesis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Macedonian:
теза
(teza)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Malay:
tesis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Māori:
tuhinga whakapae
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Norwegian Bokmål:
tese
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Iranian Persian:
تِز
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Polish:
teza
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Portuguese:
tese
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Russian:
те́зис
(tɛ́zis)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Russian:
положе́ние
(položénije)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Serbo-Croatian:
те́за
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Serbo-Croatian:
téza
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Slovak:
téza
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Slovene:
teza
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Spanish:
tesis
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Swedish:
tes
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Tagalog:
tikha
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Tagalog:
katikhaan
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Turkish:
tez
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Turkish:
dava
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Turkish:
iddia
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Turkish:
sav
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Ukrainian:
те́за
(téza)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Ukrainian:
те́зис
(tézys)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Ukrainian:
поло́ження
(polóžennja)
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Vietnamese:
luận đề
— proposition or statement supported by arguments
Arabic:
أُطْرُوحَة
(ʔuṭrūḥa)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Armenian:
ատենախոսություն
(atenaxosutʻyun)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Armenian:
դիսերտացիա
(disertacʻia)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Armenian:
դիպլոմային աշխատանք
(diplomayin ašxatankʻ)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Asturian:
tesis
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Azerbaijani:
dissertasiya
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Belarusian:
дысерта́цыя
(dysjertácyja)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Belarusian:
дысэрта́цыя
(dysertácyja)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Belarusian:
дыпло́мная рабо́та
(dyplómnaja rabóta)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Bulgarian:
дисерта́ция
(disertácija)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Bulgarian:
дипломна работа
(diplomna rabota)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Bulgarian:
теза
(teza)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Catalan:
tesi
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Catalan:
tesi doctoral
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Chinese Cantonese:
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:
diplomová práce
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Danish:
afhandling
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Danish:
disputats
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Danish:
speciale
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Dutch:
thesis
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Dutch:
proefschrift
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Dutch:
scriptie
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Estonian:
diplomitöö
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Finnish:
tutkielma
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Finnish:
opinnäytetyö
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Finnish:
diplomityö
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Finnish:
väitöskirja
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
French:
thèse
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Galician:
tese
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Galician:
tese de doutoramento
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Georgian:
დისერტაცია
(diserṭacia)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Abschlussarbeit
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Bachelorarbeit
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Masterarbeit
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Diplomarbeit
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Doktorarbeit
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
German:
Dissertation
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Gujarati:
મહાશોધ નિબંધ
(mahāśodh nibandh)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hebrew:
תֶּזָה
(téza)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hungarian:
diplomamunka
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hungarian:
disszertáció
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Hungarian:
szakdolgozat
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Indonesian:
disertasi
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Italian:
tesi
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Japanese:
論文
(ronbun)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Kazakh:
диссертация
(dissertasiä)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Kazakh:
дипломдық жұмыс
(diplomdyq jūmys)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Khmer:
និក្ខេបបទ
(nɨkkheepaʼbɑt)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Korean:
논문
(nonmun)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Korean:
론문
(ronmun)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Kyrgyz:
диссертация
(dissertatsiya)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Lao:
ວິທະຍານິພົນ
(wi tha nyā ni phon)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Latvian:
disertācija
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Lithuanian:
disertacija
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Macedonian:
дисертација
(disertacija)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Malay:
tesis
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Māori:
tuhinga whakapae
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Norwegian Bokmål:
avhandling
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Norwegian Nynorsk:
avhandling
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Iranian Persian:
تِز
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Iranian Persian:
پایاننامِه
(pâyân-nâme)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Iranian Persian:
رِسالِه
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Polish:
dysertacja
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Polish:
praca dyplomowa
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Portuguese:
tese
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Romanian:
teză
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Romanian:
disertație
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Russian:
диссерта́ция
(dissertácija)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Russian:
дипло́мная рабо́та
(diplómnaja rabóta)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Serbo-Croatian:
дисерта́ција
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Serbo-Croatian:
disertácija
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Slovak:
diplomová práca
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Slovak:
dizertácia
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Slovene:
disertacija
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Slovene:
diplomsko delo
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Spanish:
tesis doctoral
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Spanish:
tesina
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Swedish:
dissertation
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Swedish:
avhandling
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Tagalog:
tikha
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Tajik:
диссертатсия
(dissertatsiya)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Thai:
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
Thai:
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
Thai:
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
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Turkish:
bilimsel tez
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Turkish:
bitirme tezi
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Ukrainian:
дисерта́ція
(dysertácija)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Ukrainian:
дипло́мна робо́та
(dyplómna robóta)
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Uzbek:
dissertatsiya
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Uzbek:
diplom ishi
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Vietnamese:
đồ án tốt nghiệp
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Vietnamese:
luận văn
— lengthy essay written to establish the validity of a thesis, especially one submitted as a requirement for a university degree
Ancient Greek:
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
Latin:
thesis
— 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
Middle English:
thesis
— 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
