elméleti

Elméleti is a Hungarian adjective meaning related to theory or derived from theory, as opposed to practical or empirical. It describes concepts, frameworks, or approaches that aim to explain or understand phenomena rather than to perform or apply them directly. The word is formed from the noun elmélet (theory) with the adjectival suffix -i.

In academic and scientific contexts, elméleti is used to designate disciplines, subfields, or methods that emphasize abstract reasoning, models, or deductive analysis. Examples include elméleti fizika (theoretical physics), elméleti matematika (theoretical mathematics), elméleti információelmélet (theoretical information theory), and elméleti nyelvészet (theoretical linguistics). It also appears in phrases such as elméleti kutatás (theoretical research) or elméleti alapelvek (theoretical principles). When contrasted with gyakorlati (practical) or kísérleti (experimental) approaches, elméleti denotes work conducted in abstraction, often preceding or guiding empirical validation and application.

The term is not confined to the sciences; it is widely used in philosophy, social sciences, and humanities to indicate frameworks, models, or analyses that are grounded in theory. In such contexts, elméleti perspectives help structure interpretation and critique, even as they interact with empirical data and real-world phenomena. Overall, elméleti signals a focus on concepts, reasoning, and explanatory power rather than immediate implementation.