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
-
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
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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:
"In our therapeutic strategy, molecules naturally present or generated within the body -- including disease-associated metabolites -- are used as endogenous chemical feedstocks to synthesize therapeutic molecules directly at the site of disease."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026
Chief among them is the time required to physically synthesize and test newly designed proteins.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Can you synthesize lots of disparate pieces of information?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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
I possess all the secondary sex characteristics of a normal man except one: my inability to synthesize dihydrotestosterone has made me immune to baldness.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Vargas Llosa intersperses the story with nimbly delivered informational chapters explaining the history and influences of the Peruvian vals, or waltz, which synthesizes European and indigenous musical styles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
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
Published in Nature Cities, the comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from cities worldwide, revealing how human conflict and cultural practices affect wildlife genetics, behavior and survival in urban environments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2025
"It was quite surprising to find that a modern electron acceptor like F5H had partnered with an ancient protein to develop new biochemical machinery that synthesizes the advanced lignin structure."
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
Using their optimized conditions, they successfully synthesized lactones from 18 different ketone compounds.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
It was first synthesized and tested in the late 1980s in Russia, where it can be used for research purposes.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
The hormone cortisol, recently synthesized in the lab, had been found to arrest the virilization these girls normally underwent, allowing them to develop as normal females.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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
Though far from perfect, AI systems already outperform human customer-service agents on many routine tasks, particularly in gathering, synthesizing and consistently delivering information.
From MarketWatch ● May 11, 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
During reproduction, the helices separate, assisted by a special unwinding protein, each synthesizing an identical copy of the other from nucleotide building blocks floating about nearby in the viscous liquid of the cell nucleus.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
