to photosynthesize
2
6.1
- verb
- /ˌfoʊtəʊˈsɪnθəˌsaɪz/
- Specialized
- During the spring, trees begin to photosynthesize more actively as daylight hours increase.
- plants photosynthesize
Examples
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When leaves are covered in dust, they struggle to photosynthesize because sunlight cannot reach them.
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Plants photosynthesize more carbohydrates when they have more CO2.
Blog text (10) -
This gives the leaves more raw material to photosynthesize into food for the tree.
Academic text (2000) -
Under drought conditions, kaolin-coated trees often photosynthesize faster than uncoated trees.
Academic text (2000) -
They can't produce enough chlorophyll to photosynthesize, which stunts their growth.
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The algae use the nutrients available in the wastewater along with CO2 from the atmosphere and sunlight to photosynthesize.
Blog text (13) -
These differences allow sun-exposed leaves to tolerate higher levels of radiation without reducing their photosynthetic efficiency, and enable shaded leaves to photosynthesize even under low-light conditions.
Academic text (2010) -
It harbors zooxanthellae—microscopic single-celled algae—in its body, which can photosynthesize.
Blog text (8) -
In fact, Elysia steals its ability to photosynthesize from the algae it eats by piercing the algal cells with specialized pointy teeth called radula.
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In sunny weather, plants can photosynthesize effectively, using light, water, and carbon dioxide to make food.
Surface Forms
Morphology
photosynthesize = synthesize (semi-transparent) = photo + synthes + ize
The prefix photo- clearly contributes the idea of light, but the word is a specialized scientific term and may not be fully guessable for a general learner.
Etymology
Photosynthesize comes from the parts photo meaning 'light' and synthesize meaning 'put together', with the photo part the same as in photograph. So to photosynthesize is to use sunlight to 'put together' food and energy, which is what plants do.