synthetic

synthetic — adjective

1. created in a laboratory through chemical reactions instead of being found in nat

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

created in a laboratory through chemical reactions instead of being found in nature; commonly describing fabrics, rubbers, and other materials designed to copy natural ones.

Example

Sumin bought a jacket made of synthetic leather instead of real leather.

synthetic + leather / fabric type

Many outdoor jackets use synthetic fibres to keep out wind and rain.

Common collocations
  • synthetic fibres
  • synthetic materials
  • synthetic fabrics
  • synthetic leather
  • synthetic rubber
Synonyms
  • artificial

    broader term; can refer to anything made by human effort rather than natural

  • man-made

    more informal; directly contrasts with natural but less precise about chemical origin

  • manufactured

    emphasises the industrial production process rather than chemical composition

Antonyms
  • natural

    produced by nature, not by humans

Grammar Patterns

synthetic + noun (fabric, material, substance)

Usage Note

Usually appears before a noun describing a product, fabric, or substance. Common collocates include fibres, materials, fabrics, rubber, leather, and chemicals.

Common Mistakes

This food contains synthetic flavourings that are bad for you.' (acceptable)
This food contains artificial flavourings that are bad for you.
'synthetic' works here too but 'artificial' is more common for food additives.

2. not real or natural in a social or emotional sense; created to give an impressio

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

not real or natural in a social or emotional sense; created to give an impression that is different from the truth.

Example

Otis felt that the manager's enthusiasm at the meeting was synthetic and rehearsed.

synthetic + enthusiasm / emotion

The reality show felt synthetic, with every conflict planned by the producers.

Common collocations
  • synthetic smile
  • synthetic enthusiasm
  • synthetic emotion
  • synthetic charm
  • synthetic warmth
Synonyms
  • fake

    stronger and more direct; common in everyday speech

  • insincere

    specifically about people's feelings or intentions; more formal

  • contrived

    suggests something was deliberately arranged to seem natural but fails

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

synthetic + noun (emotion, reaction, enthusiasm)

Usage Note

Carries a negative judgement — describes someone's behaviour or a product of human expression as fake. Typically modifies nouns for emotions, social performances, or artistic works.

Common Mistakes

Her tears at the funeral were synthetic.' (correct meaning, but harsh)
Her tears at the funeral seemed forced.
'synthetic' for emotion is strong and informal; 'forced' or 'insincere' is more neutral.

3. describing a language where grammar — such as who did something to someone — is

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

describing a language where grammar — such as who did something to someone — is signalled by adding endings onto existing words, instead of needing separate helper words like prepositions or auxiliary verbs.

Example

Latin is a highly synthetic language where noun endings indicate subject and object roles.

synthetic + language (linguistic typology)

Professor Hari explained that ancient Greek used synthetic verb forms to show tense and person.

Common collocations
  • synthetic language
  • synthetic verb system
  • synthetic grammar
  • highly synthetic
  • synthetic morphology
Synonyms
  • inflectional

    more specific term emphasising the role of inflections; often used interchangeably with synthetic in linguistics

  • fusional

    refers to a subtype where a single ending carries multiple grammatical meanings at once

Antonyms
  • analytic

    describing languages that use separate words or word order rather than inflections

Grammar Patterns

synthetic + language

highly synthetic

Usage Note

A technical term in linguistics. Synthetic languages are contrasted with analytic (or isolating) languages like Chinese, where word order and separate function words carry grammatical meaning.

4. relating to the approach of bringing together separate ideas, facts, or parts to

4.adjectiveC2
Definition

relating to the approach of bringing together separate ideas, facts, or parts to form a connected whole; used especially in contrast to analytic thinking that breaks things apart.

Example

The philosopher argued that synthetic reasoning brings separate observations into a unified theory.

synthetic + reasoning / thinking (contrast with analytic)

Stephanie wrote a synthetic analysis that combined data from five different research studies.

Common collocations
  • synthetic thinking
  • synthetic approach
  • synthetic reasoning
  • synthetic method
  • synthetic judgement
Synonyms
  • integrative

    emphasises the act of bringing parts into a whole; common in academic contexts

  • combinatory

    more technical; stresses the combining of separate elements

  • holistic

    views something as a whole rather than focusing on individual parts; broader than synthetic

Antonyms
  • analytic

    breaking things into separate parts for examination

Grammar Patterns

synthetic + noun (thinking, approach, analysis, reasoning)

Usage Note

Opposite of analytic in academic and philosophical contexts. A synthetic approach combines findings; an analytic approach breaks a problem into smaller pieces. Often used in academic writing about methodology.

synthetic — noun

Word family

  • synthesize
    verbB2
  • synthesis
    nounB2
  • synthetically
    adverbC1
  • synthesizer
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe things produced by human effort rather than occurring naturally, but they differ in focus. Synthetic is the most specific term, referring to substances created through chemical processes — you would call polyester a synthetic fabric but not a synthetic smile (that belongs to a different sense). Artificial is the broadest term, covering anything made or modified by humans, from artificial light to artificial sweeteners; unlike synthetic, it often carries a slightly negative connotation of being inferior to the real thing. Man-made is the most informal option, used in everyday contexts like man-made lakes or man-made fibres; it focuses on human origin rather than chemical composition. Manufactured points to industrial production — a manufactured home is built in a factory, but a manufactured fibre could be either natural (like processed cotton) or chemical (like nylon). For describing materials like rubber or leather, synthetic is the most precise choice when the chemical origin matters, while artificial works well in general contexts. For example: 'The shoes have synthetic uppers made from petroleum-based fibres' versus 'She prefers natural materials over artificial ones in her wardrobe.'

artificial ↗man-mademanufacturedsynthetic ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • fibres
  • materials
  • fabrics
  • rubber
  • leather
  • polymers
  • chemicals
  • fuels
  • drugs
  • compounds

Adverbs

  • completely synthetic
  • fully synthetic
  • partly synthetic
  • entirely synthetic
  • purely synthetic

Phrases

  • synthetic alternative to
  • synthetic version of
  • synthetic form of
  • synthetic substitute for

Prepositions

  • synthetic in nature
  • synthetic by composition

Etymology

GreekLatinFrenchEnglish

The word synthetic entered English in the late 17th century through Latin syntheticus, which came from Greek synthetikos (συνθετικός), meaning 'skilled in putting together.' The Greek root synthesis (σύνθεσις) is a compound of syn- (σύν, 'together') and tithenai (τιθέναι, 'to put or place'). The original philosophical sense referred to reasoning that combines elements into a whole, later extended to chemistry in the 19th century to describe substances artificially created by combining elements. The pejorative meaning of 'fake' or 'artificial' developed in the 20th century as synthetic consumer goods became widespread.