synthesize
Americanverb (used with object)
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synthesizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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synthesized,
past participle, past
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synthesizing
present participle
-
to form (a material or abstract entity) by combining parts or elements (opposed to analyze).
to synthesize a statement.
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Chemistry. to combine (constituent elements) into a single or unified entity.
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to treat synthetically.
verb (used without object)
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synthesizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
synthesized,
past participle, past
-
synthesizing
present participle
verb
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to combine or cause to combine into a whole
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(tr) to produce by synthesis
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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synthesizationnoun
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resynthesizeverb (used with object)
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nonsynthesizedadjective
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unsynthesizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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synthesizesimple
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synthesizessimple
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have synthesizedperfect
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has synthesizedperfect
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am synthesizingprogressive
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are synthesizingprogressive
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is synthesizingprogressive
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have been synthesizingperfect progressive
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has been synthesizingperfect progressive
Past
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synthesizedsimple
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had synthesizedperfect
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was synthesizingprogressive
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were synthesizingprogressive
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had been synthesizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of synthesize
First recorded in 1820–30; synthes(is) + -ize
Explanation
When you synthesize, you combine two or more things to create something more complex. It's becoming more common for doctors these days to synthesize Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. While synthesize was first used in 1830, scientists and inventors were doing what it means long before that, mixing stuff together to create new materials and products. Medical researchers chemically synthesize chemicals every day in the lab, hoping to create the next wonder drug. When you write a research paper on a given topic, you must find and synthesize information related to that topic, so you can understand what it means and structure an argument in support of your thesis.
Vocabulary lists containing synthesize
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Argumentative Writing
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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.
See Examples For:
Chief among them is the time required to physically synthesize and test newly designed proteins.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
"They can target a broad range of pathogens, and due to their potency, scientists have been trying to synthesize a variety for therapeutic uses."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
Users can analyze their archived chats with AI tools to find recurring themes, synthesize previous conversations and improve future chat guidelines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Generative AI can synthesize and extrapolate in valuable ways, but it also can produce wrong answers or take on tasks that educators would see as inappropriate or counterproductive — such as writing papers for students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
This capacity, Beadle understood, was due to the presence of enzymes within the cell—proteins that acted as master builders and could synthesize complex biological macromolecules out of basic precursor chemicals.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The startups are all working on the same basic idea—integrate direct-air carbon capture with the equipment that synthesizes natural gas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
It’s usually everyone building off of each other, and then someone synthesizes those ideas, pitches it out to the room, and you feel this collective relief and excitement within that room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025
The platform’s AI then synthesizes this information and generates a robust appeal letter that incorporates data from peer-reviewed scientific evidence, legal precedents where insurers have lost in court and relevant policy.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
"Without the CB5D gene, the plant synthesizes only a small amount of S-lignin," said Xianhai Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher at Brookhaven and lead author on the new paper.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024
Parks Canada is also taking advantage of another technological development called stereophotogrammetry, which produces pictures in pairs and then synthesizes hundreds of these pairings to produce extraordinarily clear images of whatever object is being studied.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Still, the cumbia villera of her childhood — a heavily synthesized subgenre born in the outskirts of Buenos Aires in the late 1990s — runs through everything she makes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Its a continuation of the precedent they’ve set in terms of lyrical and sonic quality, but simultaneously is far more melancholic and synthesized than their previous work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
Perhaps the most striking is the story of Compound E, an adrenal hormone isolated by the Mayo Clinic biochemist Edward Kendall in 1935 and later synthesized with great difficulty by Tishler and other Merck chemists.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
"We were not expecting that because these proteins are mainly synthesized in the liver," says Manish Mishra, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Dixit lab and a co-first author of the study.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The synthesized voice of the cab’s computer told me the drive would take an estimated thirty-two minutes with the current traffic conditions.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
In a new study published in Nature Electronics, a Harvard led research team unveiled a silicon chip capable of synthesizing 64 different DNA sequences at the same time.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
But Socolow came off as masterful at synthesizing energy challenges and environmental concerns, and Pacala brought deep knowledge of how carbon moves between Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Even the pioneers of AI will tell you, Stassun said, in many cases, what AI does very well is rapidly synthesizing, consolidating or repackaging existing information.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
The expectation is that AI agents will handle the time-consuming work: synthesizing information, drafting materials and identifying patterns.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 10, 2026
He looks down at the scrawling he’s made on the paper, synthesizing everything he’s written, as if expecting new information to leap out at him.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
