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: Compare analytic ( def 3 ), polysynthetic ( def 1 ).

   Latin is a synthetic language, while English is analytic.

4. 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.
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

/ sĭn-thĕt′ĭk /

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

Derived Forms

• synˈthetically, adverb

Other Words From

• syn·theti·cal·ly adverb
• nonsyn·thetic adjective
• nonsyn·theti·cal adjective
• nonsyn·theti·cal·ly adverb
• unsyn·thetic adjective
• unsyn·theti·cal·ly 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

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.

From 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.

From 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.

From Singularity Hub 

Because the smell was completely synthetic, though, researchers could mess with it.

From Science News

The fully synthetic nature of the Arkansas team’s technology could thus have a leg up on biologically-based approaches.

From Singularity Hub 

One key ingredient of the stuff: Propylene glycol, a synthetic liquid that absorbs water.

From The Daily Beast

The Illinois legislation does not include bioplastics like PHA, defining the banned microplastics to be of the synthetic type.

From The Daily Beast

But the arguments over drug testing may cease to matter if the synthetic drug epidemic continues.

From The Daily Beast

With more than 300 synthetic cannabinoids in use today, drug-testing companies are struggling to keep up with the new varieties.

From The Daily Beast

A dangerous synthetic drug trend is fueling an epidemic among American youth.

From The Daily Beast

Nearly all the translating words given in this section so far are synthetic.

From Project Gutenberg

Drapes of velvety synthetic, dyed the deep green that Martian colonists like, covered the walls.

From Project Gutenberg

If you want to make a synthetic sapphire, you start with a seed sapphire, and the artificial process builds up on that.

From Project Gutenberg

Approximately two-thirds of such chemical employees are found in the synthetic fiber field.

From Project Gutenberg

Virginia now has approximately 30% of the total employees in the United States engaged in synthetic fibers.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fabricated
• manufactured