null hypothesis
noun
: a statistical hypothesis to be tested and accepted or rejected in favor of an alternative
specifically
: the hypothesis that an observed difference (as between the means of two samples) is due to chance alone and not due to a systematic cause
Examples of null hypothesis in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Of course, the only way to test that null hypothesis is to continue the search—ideally without overlooking any evidence that may lurk right under our robotic or real noses.
—
Derek Smith, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2023
Scientists, by contrast, operate from what seems to most people to be the counterintuitive position of the null hypothesis: an assumption that one is wrong until proven otherwise.
—WSJ, 28 Aug. 2022
But the 95% significance threshold under the permuted null hypothesis turned out to be an almost-as-spectacular r=0.84!
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2019
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Derek Smith, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2023
Scientists, by contrast, operate from what seems to most people to be the counterintuitive position of the null hypothesis: an assumption that one is wrong until proven otherwise.
—WSJ, 28 Aug. 2022
But the 95% significance threshold under the permuted null hypothesis turned out to be an almost-as-spectacular r=0.84!
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 11 May 2019
Cite this Entry
“Null hypothesis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/null%20hypothesis. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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