Dictionary.com

synthetic

[ sin-thet-ik ]
/ sɪnˈθɛt ɪk /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: synthetic / synthetics / synthetically on Thesaurus.com

adjective
noun
something made by a synthetic, or chemical, process.
synthetics.
  1. substances or products made by chemical synthesis, as plastics or artificial fibers.
  2. the science or industry concerned with such products.
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.

Origin of synthetic

1690–1700; <New Latin syntheticus<Greek synthetikós, equivalent to synthet(ós) placed together, verbid of syntithénai to put together (syn-syn- + the-, stem of tithénai to put, place + -tos verbid suffix) + -ikos-ic

OTHER WORDS FROM synthetic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use synthetic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for synthetic

synthetic
/ (sɪnˈθɛtɪk) /

adjective Also: synthetical
(of a substance or material) made artificially by chemical reaction
not genuine; insinceresynthetic compassion
denoting languages, such as Latin, whose morphology is characterized by synthesisCompare polysynthetic, agglutinative (def. 2), analytic (def. 3)
philosophy
  1. (of a proposition) having a truth-value that is not determined solely by virtue of the meanings of the words, as in all men are arrogant
  2. contingentCompare a posteriori, empirical
noun
a synthetic substance or material

Derived forms of synthetic

synthetically, adverb

Word Origin for synthetic

C17: from New Latin syntheticus, from Greek sunthetikos expert in putting together, from suntithenai to put together; see synthesis
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for synthetic

synthetic
[ sĭn-thĕt′ĭk ]

Produced artificially, especially in a laboratory or other man-made environment. Nylon is a synthetic chemical compound.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK