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synthetic

synthetic

103 4.4
Made by people to copy something natural or not genuine
  • adjective
  • /sɪnˈθɛtɪk/
translation icon : sintético
  • She decided to purchase the synthetic fabric for her dress, as it was more affordable than natural fibers.
  • synthetic material
  • synthetic compound
  • synthetic chemicals

He's also going to call this a synthetic presentation.

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Examples

  • Last on my purchase list was the synthetic suede.

  • Not bad at all for a synthetic stone.

  • It's a new synthetic drug.

  • Like I love how fresh roses smell, but the synthetic perfumey rose.

  • You want to watch out for, for any clothing that has a synthetic chemical additive.

  • Listeners in this experiment heard the same 20 synthetic female voice samples used in Experiment 1.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Echo speech synthesizer: The Echo adds synthetic speech to a wide variety of specially designed software.

    Academic text (1992)
  • I prefer to lose myself in the dizzy food coma of synthetic cheese and impossible meats.

  • It's just like synthetic bristles and they're quite short little bristles.

  • The card room fire burned on its synthetic logs, the gas cylinder faintly whistling.

    Fiction book (1998)

Synonyms

artificial
vssynthetic
267 3.6

Made by people rather than by nature, often as a copy of something natural

also can mean emotionally not sincere rather than only created by people
faux
vssynthetic
28 7.5

Not real but made to look like something real to copy it

is often neutral and created by people rather than meant to deceive
man-made
vssynthetic
27 3.4

Made by people rather than happening in nature

often implies imitation or lack of genuineness rather than mere human creation
simulated
vssynthetic
4.4

Made to look like the real thing for practice

is broader and is not limited to copying appearance

Antonyms

1.0

Not made or changed by people, coming from nature like sunlight

156 3.2

Truly felt and not fake, for example a smile or apology

Compounds

synthetic rubber
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A man-made stretchy material made with chemicals like natural rubber

synthetic fiber
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A fiber made using chemicals, not from plants or animals

1 7.2

A man-made drug like morphine that helps people addicted to heroin avoid withdrawal symptoms

synthetic substance
  • Specialized
1 4.1

People make it in a lab or factory rather than find it in nature

synthetic cubism
  • Specialized
9.6

A later painting style with simple shapes, bright colors, and glued paper pieces

synthetic language
  • Specialized
9.4

A language that shows grammar by adding endings or small parts to words

synthetic resin
  • Specialized
4.6

A man-made sticky material used to make plastics

Combining ideas from different fields to make a single clear whole

How Natural

natural
1.0
synthetic
103 4.4
fake
833 1.8

Surface Forms

synthetic positive
syntheticker comparative
synthetickest superlative

Morphology

synthetic = synthesis (transparent) = synthesis + ic

The adjective is directly formed from 'synthesis' with the suffix '-ic', so 'synthetic' easily conveys 'relating to or produced by synthesis (i.e., artificial)'.

Etymology

Synthetic comes from the word synthesis, which means 'put together'. So a synthetic thing is made by putting parts together in a factory or lab, not formed naturally.