From French synthétique, from Ancient Greek συνθετικός (sunthetikós).



synthetic (comparative more synthetic, superlative most synthetic)

  1. Of, or relating to synthesis.
  2. (chemistry) Produced by synthesis instead of being isolated from a natural source (but may be identical to a product so obtained).
  3. Artificial, not genuine.
  4. (grammar) Pertaining to the joining of bound morphemes in a word. Compare analytic.
  5. (linguistics) Of a language, having a grammar principally dependent on the use of bound morphemes to indicate syntactic relationships. Compare analytic.

Derived termsEdit




synthetic (plural synthetics)

  1. A synthetic compound.
    • 2007 January 14, Elsa Brenner, “Art House to Get a Campus”, in New York Times[1]:
      Only plastics and synthetics that cannot be recycled will end up in landfills, he said.