DictionaryAI

synthetic

sin-THET-ik/sɪnˈθɛtɪk/

Noun pluralsynthetics

5 meanings of synthetic

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    Made by people using chemicals, not taken from nature, often to copy or replace a natural substance.

    Factories make synthetic rubber from oil.

    The cake tastes of synthetic vanilla, not real vanilla beans.

    Similarartificial, man-made

    Oppositenatural

    Note
  2. 2
    imitationadjective
    Not real or true, but made to look real.

    Her smile looked synthetic, like she was only pretending to be happy.

    The movie's happy ending felt synthetic and false.

    UsageIt is not a kind word: a synthetic smile looks fake.

    Similarartificial, fake, false, phony, insincere

    Oppositegenuine, real, sincere

  3. 3
    joining togetheradjective
    About putting separate parts together to make one whole thing.

    Her synthetic way of thinking helps her join many small ideas into one big plan.

    The lab does synthetic work, building new chemicals step by step.

    Similarintegrative

    Oppositeanalytic

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A material made from chemicals in a factory, not taken from nature.

    This shirt is not cotton. It's a synthetic.

    Wash synthetics in cold water so they keep their shape.

    UsageSay synthetics for man-made fabrics.

    Note

Less common meaning

  1. 5
    adjective
    In grammar, showing meaning like tense or case with word endings instead of separate words, as Latin does.

    In a synthetic language, word endings show who did what to whom.

    Turkish is a synthetic language, so one long word can say what English says in a whole sentence.

    Similarinflectional

    Oppositeanalytic, isolating

    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of synthetic apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From a Greek word, through French; related to synthesis.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts