A theorist is someone whose work is building explanations — the person in a field who asks why things happen the way they do and puts forward a system of ideas to account for it. You meet the word with the subject in front of it: a political theorist, a literary theorist, a music theorist, a conspiracy theorist.

A theorist一個theorist is是 someone whose work is building explanations一個工作是建構解釋的人——the person in a field一個領域裡 who asks why things happen the way they do會去問事情為什麼是這樣發生的人 and puts forward a system of ideas to account for it並提出一套想法來解釋它。You meet the word你會看到這個字 with the subject in front of it前面加上領域名稱：a political theorist, a literary theorist, a music theorist, a conspiracy theorist政治理論家、文學理論家、音樂理論家、陰謀論者。

In science, 'theorist' is a real job description and marks a division of labour: the theorists work with mathematics and models at a desk, while the experimenters test those models in a laboratory, and a physics department will contain both.

In science在科學領域裡，'theorist''theorist' is是 a real job description一個真正的職稱 and marks a division of labour也標示出一種分工：the theorists理論家 work with mathematics and models at a desk在辦公桌前用數學和模型工作，while而 the experimenters實驗人員 test those models in a laboratory在實驗室裡測試那些模型，and而 a physics department一個物理系 will contain both兩種人都會有。

Elsewhere the word can carry a light sting, especially when it stands against 'practitioner': calling someone 'more of a theorist' can hint that their ideas are elegant but have never had to survive contact with the real world. Whether it stings depends entirely on the sentence around it.

Elsewhere在其他地方 the word這個字 can carry a light sting可能帶點輕微的刺，especially when it stands against 'practitioner'尤其是跟「practitioner（實踐者）」對比的時候：calling someone 'more of a theorist'說某人「more of a theorist」（比較偏理論派） can hint that their ideas are elegant可能暗示他們的想法很漂亮 but have never had to survive contact with the real world但從來沒有真正在現實世界裡接受過考驗。Whether it stings這是否帶刺 depends entirely on the sentence around it完全取決於前後文。

One fixed phrase to know on its own: 'conspiracy theorist' is not neutral at all — it means someone who believes secret groups are behind events, and it is nearly always said with disapproval. Countable: a theorist, many theorists.

One fixed phrase to know on its own有一個固定說法要單獨認識：'conspiracy theorist''conspiracy theorist'（陰謀論者） is not neutral at all一點也不中性——it means someone who believes secret groups are behind events意思是相信有秘密團體在幕後操縱事件的人，and而且 it is nearly always said with disapproval幾乎總是帶著不以為然的語氣說出來的。Countable可數：a theorist, many theoriststheorist、theorists。