Premise
Premise noun - Something taken as being true or factual and used as a starting point for a course of action or reasoning.
Usage example: your conclusion is all wrong because you started out with a false premise
Theory is a synonym for premise in reason topic. In some cases you can use "Theory" instead a noun "Premise".
Theory
Theory noun - An idea that is the starting point for making a case or conducting an investigation.
Usage example: set out to prove her theory that people can't really taste any difference between colas, so they buy according to the product's image
Premise is a synonym for theory in hypothesis topic. You can use "Premise" instead a noun "Theory", if it concerns topics such as reason.
Mutual synonyms
How words are described
| good | good premise | good theory |
| best | best premise | best theory |
| similar | similar premise | similar theory |
| common | common premise | common theory |
| Other adjectives: original, initial, universe, popular, actual, entire, real, great, wrong, main, interesting, new, early, silly, general, bizarre, basic, insane, different. | ||
Both words in one sentence
- One theory why it's so popular is that the premise is basically the anime version of Firefly (which came later; the similarities are so great that fans have repeatedly asked Joss Whedon about it).
- This was essentially the main premise of the Celestial spheres theory of the universe.
Source: Space Is Magic - The premise of His Dark Materials is the Many-Worlds theory (quantum superpositions create parallel universes), and that one can travel between these worlds.
Source: For Want Of A Nail / Literature
Cite this Source
Theory and Premise. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 20, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/premise/theory
Premise & Theory. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/premise/theory>.
Theory or Premise. 2016. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/premise/theory.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "premise" and "theory" have occurred on timeline