theoretician

American

[thee-er-i-tish-uhn, theer-i-] / ˌθi ər ɪˈtɪʃ ən, ˌθɪər ɪ- /

noun

a person who deals with or is expert in the theoretical side of a subject.

a military theoretician.

theoretician British

/ ˌθɪərɪˈtɪʃən /

noun

a student or user of the theory rather than the practical aspects of a subject

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of theoretician

First recorded in 1885–90; theoretic(s) + -ian

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was influenced by Sayyid Qutb, the Sunni Egyptian theoretician of the Muslim Brotherhood who propagated the idea of an Islamic Republic.

From The Wall Street Journal

I think it allowed young economists and theoreticians coming through the system to make a huge splash and to make their mark — and not have to read the old authors.

From Salon

As a next step, the theoreticians examined the effects of increasing the width of the lanes and the cell clusters in their simulations.

From Science Daily

But they needed a theoretician to help them understand what was happening.

From New York Times

Mr. Barth was a practitioner and a theoretician of postmodern literature.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023