synthetic

[sin-thet-ik]

adjective

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

2. noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin.

   synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.

3. (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.

4. Logic.,  Also synthetical. of or relating to a noncontradictory proposition in which the predicate is not included in, or entailed by, the subject.

5. not real or genuine; artificial; feigned.

   a synthetic chuckle at a poor joke.

   Synonyms: sham, counterfeit, phony, fake

6. Jewelry.

   1. noting a gem mineral manufactured so as to be physically, chemically, and optically identical with the mineral as found in nature.

   2. (not in technical use) noting a gem mineral manufactured and pigmented in imitation of a natural gemstone of that name.

noun

1. something made by a synthetic, or chemical, process.

2. synthetics.

   1. substances or products made by chemical synthesis, as plastics or artificial fibers.

   2. the science or industry concerned with such products.

synthetic

/ sɪnˈθɛtɪk /

adjective

1. (of a substance or material) made artificially by chemical reaction

2. not genuine; insincere

   synthetic compassion

3. denoting languages, such as Latin, whose morphology is characterized by synthesis Compare polysynthetic agglutinative analytic

4. 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. contingent Compare a posteriori empirical

noun

1. a synthetic substance or material

synthetic

1. Produced artificially, especially in a laboratory or other man-made environment. Nylon is a synthetic chemical compound.

Other Word Forms

• synthetically adverb
• nonsynthetic adjective
• nonsynthetical adjective
• nonsynthetically adverb
• unsynthetic adjective
• unsynthetically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of synthetic¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of synthetic¹

C17: from New Latin syntheticus, from Greek sunthetikos expert in putting together, from suntithenai to put together; see _synthesis

Example Sentences

The findings from this project point toward that direction, and the research teams are already planning additional studies focused on microbial engineering and synthetic biology to improve future degradation capabilities.

Read more on Science Daily

“We don’t use AI-generated personalities. We don’t play AI music that features synthetic vocalists pretending to be human,” Tom Poleman, the company’s programming chief, wrote in an email to employees.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Therrien’s beards — fashioned from synthetic hair, plaster, stainless steel or aluminum — hang on wardrobe stands from hooks that would go over the wearer’s ears as part of a costume.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, SpiderRock can also use options to create a “synthetic long” position to the broad market or some other benchmark to maintain the portfolio’s overall equity exposure.

Read more on Barron's

Wheat and most other crops lack these nodules, which is why synthetic nitrogen fertilizer is widely used.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• fabricated 
• manufactured www.thesaurus.com