synthesis definition | Dictionary.com

syn⋅the⋅sis

[sin-thuh-sis]

–noun, plural -ses [-seez]

1.	the combining of the constituent elements of separate material or abstract entities into a single or unified entity (opposed to analysis ).

2.	a complex whole formed by combining.

3.	Chemistry. the forming or building of a more complex substance or compound from elements or simpler compounds.

4.	Philosophy. See under Hegelian dialectic.

5.	Biology. modern synthesis.

6.	Psychology, Psychiatry. the integration of traits, attitudes, and impulses to create a total personality.

Origin:
1580–90; < L < Gk sýnthesis, equiv. to syn- syn- + the- (s. of tithénai to put, place) + -sis -sis

Related forms:

syn⋅the⋅sist, noun

Hegelian dialectic

–noun

an interpretive method, originally used to relate specific entities or events to the absolute idea, in which some assertible proposition (thesis) is necessarily opposed by an equally assertible and apparently contradictory proposition (antithesis), the mutual contradiction being reconciled on a higher level of truth by a third proposition (synthesis).

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To synthesis

syn·the·sis (sĭn'thĭ-sĭs)

n. pl. syn·the·ses (-sēz')

1. The combining of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole.
2. The complex whole so formed.
3. Reasoning from the general to the particular; logical deduction.
4. The combination of thesis and antithesis in the Hegelian dialectical process whereby a new and higher level of truth is produced.
Chemistry Formation of a compound from simpler compounds or elements.
Philosophy
1. Reasoning from the general to the particular; logical deduction.
2. The combination of thesis and antithesis in the Hegelian dialectical process whereby a new and higher level of truth is produced.

[Latin, collection, from Greek sunthesis, from suntithenai, to put together : sun-, syn- + tithenai, to put; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
syn'the·sist n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Synthesis

Syn"the*sis\, n.; pl. Syntheses. [L., a mixture, properly, a putting together, Gr. ?, fr. ? to place or put together; sy`n with + ? to place. See Thesis.]

1. Composition, or the putting of two or more things together, as in compounding medicines.

2. (Chem.) The art or process of making a compound by putting the ingredients together, as contrasted with analysis; thus, water is made by synthesis from hydrogen and oxygen; hence, specifically, the building up of complex compounds by special reactions, whereby their component radicals are so grouped that the resulting substances are identical in every respect with the natural articles when such occur; thus, artificial alcohol, urea, indigo blue, alizarin, etc., are made by synthesis.

3. (Logic) The combination of separate elements of thought into a whole, as of simple into complex conceptions, species into genera, individual propositions into systems; -- the opposite of analysis.

Analysis and synthesis, though commonly treated as two different methods, are, if properly understood, only the two necessary parts of the same method. Each is the relative and correlative of the other. --Sir W. Hamilton.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : synthesis

Spanish: síntesis,

German: die Synthese,

Japanese: 合成

More Translations »

synthesis

1611, from L. synthesis "collection, set, composition (of a medication)," from Gk. synthesis "composition," from syntithenai "put together, combine," from syn- "together" + tithenai "put, place," from PIE base *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Synthetic in the sense of "made artificially by chemical synthesis" is first recorded 1874. Synthesizer "electronic musical instrument" is attested from 1909.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: syn·the·sis
Pronunciation: 'sin(t)-th&-s&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural syn·the·ses /-"sEz/
1 : the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole
2 : the production of a substance by the union of chemicalelements, groups, or simpler compounds or by the degradation of a complex compound synthesis>

synthesis syn·the·sis (sĭn'thĭ-sĭs)
n. pl. syn·the·ses (-sēz')

The combining of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole.
Formation of a chemical compound from simpler compounds or elements.
A period in the cell cycle.

synthesis (sĭn'thĭ-sĭs) Pronunciation Key
Plural syntheses (sĭn'thĭ-sēz')
The formation of a chemical compound through the combination of simpler compounds or elements.

synthesize verb

synthesis programming, specification
The process of deriving (efficient) programs from (clear) specifications.
See also program transformation.
(1996-08-23)

synthesis

in philosophy, the combination of parts, or elements, in order to form a more complete view or system. The coherent whole that results is considered to show the truth more completely than would a mere collection of parts. The term synthesis also refers, in the dialectical philosophy of the 19th-century German philosopher G.W.F. Hegel, to the higher stage of truth that combines the truth of a thesis and an antithesis. Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy underscores an existential type of synthesis. In Being and Nothingness, consciousness (pour-soi) is always trying to become being (en-soi), to achieve a synthesis, as it were, between no-thing and some-thing.

Learn more about synthesis with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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