[Montana_Sam]

“We don’t know enough to say that it’s improbable or that it is probable that there are highly evolved species out there,” Barr [said].

Evolution is that particularly dreary little theory for unimaginative people who never learned to think.

[Clutch Martin]

[WWW] “Hypothesis proposes a tentative explanation or prediction. (ex.)Their hypothesis may be proven true or false by testing and experimentation.

A theory, on the other hand, is a substantiated explanation for an occurrence.

A hypothesis is not a prediction. Rather, a prediction is derived from a hypothesis. A (causal) hypothesis does not become a theory if it subsequently becomes well-supported by evidence. Rather, it becomes a well-supported hypothesis.”

Have heard very few top scientists use the word theory, when discussing subjects on interviews. Scientists seem careful about using “hypothesis” rather than misusing the term “theory.”