synthetic

[ sin-thet-ik ]

/ sɪnˈθɛt ɪk /

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See synonyms for: synthetic / synthetics / synthetically on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of, pertaining to, proceeding by, or involving synthesis (opposed to analytic).

noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin: synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.

(of a language) characterized by a relatively widespread use of affixes, rather than separate words, to express syntactic relationships: Latin is a synthetic language, while English is analytic.Compare analytic (def. 3), polysynthetic (def. 1).

Also syn·thet·i·cal. Logic. of or relating to a noncontradictory proposition in which the predicate is not included in, or entailed by, the subject.

not real or genuine; artificial; feigned: a synthetic chuckle at a poor joke.

Jewelry.

noting a gem mineral manufactured so as to be physically, chemically, and optically identical with the mineral as found in nature.
(not in technical use) noting a gem mineral manufactured and pigmented in imitation of a natural gemstone of that name.

noun

something made by a synthetic, or chemical, process.

synthetics.

substances or products made by chemical synthesis, as plastics or artificial fibers.
the science or industry concerned with such products.

OTHER WORDS FOR synthetic

5 fake, phony, counterfeit, sham.

See synonyms for synthetic on Thesaurus.com

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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

syn·thet·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·syn·thet·ic, adjectivenon·syn·thet·i·cal, adjectivenon·syn·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb

un·syn·thet·ic, adjectiveun·syn·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby synthetic

synthesis gas, synthesize, synthesizer, synthespian, synthetase, synthetic, synthetic biology, synthetic cubism, synthetic detergent, synthetic division, synthetic fuel

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

How to use synthetic in a sentence

Another client is an Ohio-based manufacturer of cotton swabs that is replacing the cotton with a synthetic equivalent in order to make nasal testing swabs uncontaminated by the plant fiber’s DNA.
Unmade in America|Tate Ryan-Mosley|August 14, 2020|MIT Technology Review
The team hopes their new cotton plants might eventually be grown widely and made into clothes, helping to displace the toxic dyes and synthetic materials used by the fashion industry.
Scientists Gene-Hack Cotton Plants to Make Them Every Color of the Rainbow|Jason Dorrier|August 11, 2020|Singularity Hub
All he needed was a long, two-dimensional chain—natural or synthetic—and the chain should fold itself automatically, similar to how it folds into the double helix inside our bodies.
How Fake Viruses Can Help Us Make the Best Possible Vaccines|Shelly Fan|July 7, 2020|Singularity Hub
Because the smell was completely synthetic, though, researchers could mess with it.
How to make a mouse smell a smell that doesn’t actually exist|Laura Sanders|June 18, 2020|Science News

The fully synthetic nature of the Arkansas team’s technology could thus have a leg up on biologically-based approaches.
Artificial Kidneys Are a Step Closer With This New Tech|Vanessa Bates Ramirez|June 3, 2020|Singularity Hub
One key ingredient of the stuff: Propylene glycol, a synthetic liquid that absorbs water.
Europeans Recall Fireball Whiskey Over a Sweetener Also Used in Antifreeze|Tim Mak|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Illinois legislation does not include bioplastics like PHA, defining the banned microplastics to be of the synthetic type.
Your Favorite Facewash Is Hurting Nemo|Alexa C. Kurzius|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the arguments over drug testing may cease to matter if the synthetic drug epidemic continues.
Are We Addicted to Drug Testing?|Abby Haglage|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With more than 300 synthetic cannabinoids in use today, drug-testing companies are struggling to keep up with the new varieties.
Are We Addicted to Drug Testing?|Abby Haglage|May 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A dangerous synthetic drug trend is fueling an epidemic among American youth.
Is Synthetic Weed Feuling Yemen’s Terrorism?|Abby Haglage|May 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nearly all the translating words given in this section so far are synthetic.
Assimilative Memory|Marcus Dwight Larrowe (AKA Prof. A. Loisette)
Drapes of velvety synthetic, dyed the deep green that Martian colonists like, covered the walls.
Fee of the Frontier|Horace Brown Fyfe
If you want to make a synthetic sapphire, you start with a seed sapphire, and the artificial process builds up on that.
Nine Men in Time|Noel Miller Loomis
Approximately two-thirds of such chemical employees are found in the synthetic fiber field.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey
Virginia now has approximately 30% of the total employees in the United States engaged in synthetic fibers.
Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia|Dorothy M. Torpey

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

(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
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.

synthetic

OTHER WORDS FOR synthetic

Origin of synthetic

OTHER WORDS FROM synthetic

Words nearby synthetic

Words related to synthetic

How to use synthetic in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for synthetic

Derived forms of synthetic

Word Origin for synthetic

Scientific definitions for synthetic