synthesizer

American  

[sin-thuh-sahy-zer] / ˈsɪn θəˌsaɪ zər /

noun

1. a person or thing that synthesizes.

2. any of various electronic, sometimes portable consoles or modules, usually computerized, for creating, modifying, and combining tones or reproducing the sounds of musical instruments by controlling voltage patterns, operated by means of keyboards, joysticks, sliders, or knobs.

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synthesizer British  

/ ˈsɪnθɪˌsaɪzə /

noun

1. an electrophonic instrument, usually operated by means of a keyboard and pedals, in which sounds are produced by voltage-controlled oscillators, filters, and amplifiers, with an envelope generator module that controls attack, decay, sustain, and release

2. a person or thing that synthesizes

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Etymology

Origin of synthesizer

First recorded in 1865–70; 1905–10 synthesizer for def. 2; synthesize + -er ¹

Explanation

A synthesizer is a musical instrument that has a keyboard like a piano but can sound like just about any instrument in the world. The usually small, modest keyboard of a synthesizer can be deceiving — it's not just an electronic piano. Synthesizers can mimic the sound of a saxophone, drums, hand claps, or even an orchestra's entire string section. Some synthesizers even let you play a recorded sound and then manipulate it so it sounds just the way you want it to. Synthesizer comes from synthesize, "combine two or more things," and its Greek root synthesis, "a putting together."

Example Sentences

A veritable feast for the ears that shimmers with sound — a stray guitar flourish here, a pulsing synthesizer there.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026

Mr. Taborn was, he told me, “surrounded” in the recording studio—a Steinway here, a Farfisa organ there, a Roland synthesizer, and so on, among which he moved in real time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

Shockingly, despite its nostalgia-riddled synthesizer, “A Donde Va El Viento” is not an ’80s or ’90s tune.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2024

And when a malfunctioning synthesizer forced him to abort a performance of his new song Small Changes, the former perfectionist just laughed it off.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2024

A synthesizer, it seemed, or maybe an electric organ.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien