<p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>A proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections: He vigorously defended his thesis on the causes of war.</li><li>Synonyms: proposal, contention, theory.</li><li>A subject for a composition or essay.</li><li>A dissertation on a particular subject in which one has done original research, as one presented by a candidate for a diploma or degree.</li><li>Music: the downward stroke in conducting; downbeat.</li><li>Prosody: a part of a metrical foot that does not bear the ictus or stress.</li><li>(Less commonly) the part of a metrical foot that bears the ictus.</li><li>Philosophy: Hegelian dialectic.</li></ul>