synoptic

American  

[si-nop-tik] / sɪˈnɒp tɪk /

Sometimes synoptical

adjective

1. pertaining to or constituting a synopsis; affording or taking a general view of the principal parts of a subject.

2. (often initial capital letter) taking a common view: used chiefly in reference to the first three Gospels synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, from their similarity in content, order, and statement.

3. (often initial capital letter) pertaining to the synoptic Gospels.

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synoptic British  

/ sɪˈnɒptɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to a synopsis

2. (often capital) Bible

   1. (of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke) presenting the narrative of Christ's life, ministry, etc from a point of view held in common by all three, and with close similarities in content, order, etc

   2. of, relating to, or characterizing these three Gospels

3. meteorol showing or concerned with the distribution of meteorological conditions over a wide area at a given time

   a synoptic chart

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noun

1. (often capital) Bible

   1. any of the three synoptic Gospels

   2. any of the authors of these three Gospels

Other Word Forms

• nonsynoptic adjective
• nonsynoptical adjective
• nonsynoptically adverb
• synoptically adverb
• synoptist noun

Etymology

Origin of synoptic

1755–65; < Greek synoptikós, equivalent to synop- ( synopsis ) + -tikos -tic

Explanation

If you’ve heard of a movie synopsis, which gives an overview of the plot, you can guess what synoptic means: summarizing. At the end of your 900-page treatise on morals, try to give a synoptic conclusion to drive your ideas home. Synoptic can be broken down to syn-, meaning together, and -optic, meaning view or sight. So something that is synoptic pulls everything together. At the end of a long day touring your great aunt’s ancestral home, hearing endless stories about every dinner party she ever gave and all the people that ever stayed there, you might synoptically comment, “Basically she cooks well and has lots of fancy friends.”

Example Sentences

Some frustrated users turned to humour: "As much as I love a good game of hide and seek, can you tell us where you're hiding synoptic charts or drop some clues?"

From BBC • Nov. 26, 2025

That’s because, by the time a large-scale synoptic system makes its way across the country and evolves over time, it typically reaches the Southeast right during those evening hours.

From Scientific American • Dec. 16, 2021

Tornado outbreaks are associated with a large-scale synoptic system.

From The Verge • Dec. 13, 2021

Price’s synoptic, all-of-the-above approach suggests that our concept of “reading” has been curiously narrowed at a moment when it should have broadened.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 26, 2019

Numerous species are described, but not in synoptic form.T.

From Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects by Riley, C. V.

Related Words

• all-inclusive
• broad
• complete
• encyclopedic
• exhaustive
• extensive
• far-reaching
• full
• global
• overall
• sweeping
• thorough