theorem
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A mathematical statement of some importance that has been proven to be true.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
thihruhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθɪɹəm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
mathematics
A mathematical statement of some importance that has been proven to be true. Minor theorems are often called propositions. Theorems which are not very interesting in themselves but are an essential part of a bigger theorem's proof are called lemmas.
logic
A proposition deducible from basic postulates
logic
A syntactically correct expression that is deducible from the given axioms of a deductive system.
verb
transitive
To formulate into a theorem.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A mathematical statement of some importance that has been proven to be true. Minor theorems are often called propositions. Theorems which are not very interesting in themselves but are an essential part of a bigger theorem's proof are called lemmas.
Used this way, theorem is a specialist word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It stays understated rather than dramatic. This is a mathematical use: it is defined precisely and belongs to working with figures and calculations rather than to ordinary conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Mathematics
- Geometry
- Academic writing
- Education/classroom
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use theorem
- “The math teacher explained the complex theorem to the students.”
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.