syntactic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to syntax.
syntactic errors in English;
the syntactic rules for computer source code.
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consisting of or noting morphemes that are combined in the same order as they would be if they were separate words in a corresponding construction.
The word blackberry, which consists of an adjective followed by a noun, is a syntactic compound.
adjective
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Also: synˈtactical. relating to or determined by syntax
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logic linguistics describable wholly with respect to the grammatical structure of an expression or the rules of well-formedness of a formal system
Other Word Forms
- nonsyntactic adjective
- nonsyntactical adjective
- nonsyntactically adverb
- syntactically adverb
- unsyntactic adjective
- unsyntactical adjective
- unsyntactically adverb
Etymology
Origin of syntactic
1570–80; < New Latin syntacticus < Greek syntaktikós, equivalent to syntakt ( ós ) ordered, arranged together, verbid of syntássein to arrange together ( syn- syn- + tag-, base of tássein to arrange + -tos adj. suffix) + -ikos -ic; tactic
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.
He tested ChatGPT and, although the result “was perfectly written, from a syntactic, orthographic point of view,” it lacked poetry.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 12, 2024
There is a deep hunger that Sondheim satisfies, for intelligence and syntactic rigor in a form that in lesser hands comes across as pat and lazy.
From Washington Post • Aug. 15, 2022
“I’m a linguist, so I think everyone’s an egghead like me and wants to look at syntactic constructions,” he says.
From The Verge • Jun. 7, 2022
The basic idea with the parallel construction, which of course is a syntactic cliche, had occurred to me long before.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 2022
It’s a syntactic version of the curse of knowledge.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions 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.
