synthetic
Americanadjective
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of, pertaining to, proceeding by, or involving synthesis (analytic ).
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noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin.
synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.
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(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.
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Logic. Also synthetical. of or relating to a noncontradictory proposition in which the predicate is not included in, or entailed by, the subject.
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not real or genuine; artificial; feigned.
a synthetic chuckle at a poor joke.
- Synonyms:
- sham, counterfeit, phony, fake
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Jewelry.
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noting a gem mineral manufactured so as to be physically, chemically, and optically identical with the mineral as found in nature.
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(not in technical use) noting a gem mineral manufactured and pigmented in imitation of a natural gemstone of that name.
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noun
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something made by a synthetic, or chemical, process.
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synthetics.
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substances or products made by chemical synthesis, as plastics or artificial fibers.
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the science or industry concerned with such products.
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adjective
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(of a substance or material) made artificially by chemical reaction
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not genuine; insincere
synthetic compassion
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denoting languages, such as Latin, whose morphology is characterized by synthesis Compare polysynthetic agglutinative analytic
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philosophy
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(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
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contingent Compare a posteriori empirical
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noun
Other Word Forms
- nonsynthetic adjective
- nonsynthetical adjective
- nonsynthetically adverb
- synthetically adverb
- unsynthetic adjective
- unsynthetically adverb
Etymology
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
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Use of fur in the global fashion industry has dramatically fallen in recent years due to concerns about animal cruelty, changing trends and new synthetic alternatives.
From Barron's
“It wouldn’t be surprising if most of them used American models for parts of their synthetic data pipelines,” Browne said.
From MarketWatch
Other retailers have taken steps in recent months to phase out synthetic colours.
From BBC
Walmart said last fall it would remove synthetic dyes from its store-brand foods and phase out roughly 30 other ingredients, including certain artificial sweeteners and preservatives.
Tens of millions of items of clothing are thrown away each year, and the synthetic materials often used by fast fashion retailers are among the hardest to recycle.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
