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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

syn·thet·ic

Audio Help [sin-thet-ik] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	of, pertaining to, proceeding by, or involving synthesis (opposed to analytic).

2.	noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin: synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.

3.	(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. Compare analytic (def. 3), polysynthetic (def. 1).

4.	Also, syn·thet·i·cal. Logic. of or pertaining to a noncontradictory proposition in which the predicate is not included in, or entailed by, the subject.

5.	not real or genuine; artificial; feigned: a synthetic chuckle at a poor joke.

Jewelry.

a.	noting a gem mineral manufactured so as to be physically, chemically, and optically identical with the mineral as found in nature.

b.	(not in technical use) noting a gem mineral manufactured and pigmented in imitation of a natural gemstone of that name.

–noun

7.	something made by a synthetic, or chemical, process.

synthetics.

a.	substances or products made by chemical synthesis, as plastics or artificial fibers.

b.	the science or industry concerned with such products.

[Origin: 1690–1700; < NL syntheticus < Gk synthetikós, equiv. to synthet(ós) placed together, verbid of syntithénai to put together (syn- syn- + the-, s. of tithénai to put, place + -tos verbid suffix) + -ikos -ic

]

—Related forms

syn·thet·i·cal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 5. fake, phony, counterfeit, sham.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

syn·thet·ic Audio Help (sĭn-thět'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Relating to, involving, or of the nature of synthesis.
Chemistry Produced by synthesis, especially not of natural origin.
1. Not natural or genuine; artificial or contrived: "counterfeit rhetoric that flourishes when passions are synthetic" (George F. Will).
2. Prepared or made artificially: synthetic leather. See Synonyms at artificial.
Linguistics Relating to or being a language, such as Latin or Russian, that uses inflectional affixes to express syntactic relationships.
Logic & Philosophy Relating to or being a proposition that attributes to a subject a predicate not inherent in the subject and that does not result in a contradiction if negated.

n. A synthetic chemical compound or material.

[Greek sunthetikos, skilled in putting together, component, from sunthetos, combined, from suntithenai, to put together; see synthesis.]

syn·thet'i·cal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

synthetic
adjective
1.	not of natural origin; prepared or made artificially; "man-made fibers"; "synthetic leather" [syn: man-made]
2.	involving or of the nature of synthesis (combining separate elements to form a coherent whole) as opposed to analysis; "limnology is essentially a synthetic science composed of elements...that extend well beyond the limits of biology"- P.S.Welch [ant: analytic]
3.	systematic combining of root and modifying elements into single words [ant: analytic]
4.	of a proposition whose truth value is determined by observation or facts; "'all men are arrogant' is a synthetic proposition" [ant: analytic]
5.	artificial as if portrayed in a film; "a novel with flat celluloid characters" [syn: celluloid]
6.	not genuine or natural; "counterfeit rhetoric that flourishes when passions are synthetic"- George Will
noun
1.	a compound made artificially by chemical reactions

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
synthetic [sinˈθetik] noun, adjective

(a substance) produced artificially by a chemical process
Example: nylon and other synthetic materials / synthetics

Arabic:	تَرْكيبي، إصْطِناعي
Chinese (Simplified):	合成的
Chinese (Traditional):	合成的
Czech:	syntetický
Danish:	syntetisk
Dutch:	synthetisch
Estonian:	sünteetiline
Finnish:	synteettinen
French:	synthétique
German:	der Kunststoff, synthetisch
Greek:	συνθετικός
Hungarian:	szintetikus
Icelandic:	tilbúinn, gervi-
Indonesian:	sintetis
Italian:	sintetico

Japanese:	合成品
Korean:	합성의, 인조의; 합성물
Latvian:	sintētisks
Lithuanian:	sintetinis
Norwegian:	syntetisk
Polish:	syntetyczny
Portuguese (Brazil):	sintético
Portuguese (Portugal):	sintético
Romanian:	substanţă, *material sintetic; sintetic
Russian:	синтетика
Slovak:	syntetický
Slovenian:	umeten; sintetičen
Spanish:	sintético
Swedish:	syntetisk
Turkish:	sentetik, yapay

See also: synthesize, synthesise, synthesis

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

synthetic Audio Help (sĭn-thět'ĭk) Pronunciation Key
Produced artificially, especially in a laboratory or other man-made environment. Nylon is a synthetic chemical compound.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

synthetic

An`a*lyt"ic\, Analytical \An`a*lyt"ic*al\, a. [Gr. ?: cf. F. analytique. See Analysis.] Of or pertaining to analysis; resolving into elements or constituent parts; as, an analytical experiment; analytic reasoning; -- opposed to synthetic.

Analytical or co["o]rdinate geometry. See under Geometry.

Analytic language, a noninflectional language or one not characterized by grammatical endings.

Analytical table (Nat. Hist.), a table in which the characteristics of the species or other groups are arranged so as to facilitate the determination of their names.

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