I hypothesis is an unsubstantiated idea. This is the scientific term often confused with the colloquial theory. The phrase "I have a theory that everyone loves lolcats" means that the speaker hypothesizes that all people love lolcats. A theory is a hypothesis that has been repeatedly tested and scrutinized by the scientific community, and held true. An example of a scientific theory is gravity. Isaac newton came up with the theory of gravity and thus far every time someone has dropped something its fallen down.
Remember the word hypothetical and hypothesis have the same root. This is because a hypothetical situation doesn't have to be real or substantiated by any evidence.
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