Meaning & use
synchronization
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Meanings
noununcountable
The work of bringing events, machines, signals, or people into the same timing or rhythm.
Grammar: Usually no article: good synchronization matters. A particular instance is possible but less common: a synchronization took place.
Patterns
- synchronization of something
- synchronization between two things
- in synchronization with something
The dancers relied on subtle cues to keep perfect synchronization.
Poor synchronization between the lights and music made the show feel awkward.
nouncountable or uncountabletechnicalcomputing
In computing and media, exact matching of clocks, files, data, or sound and picture so they stay aligned.
Grammar: Use uncountable for the general process; use a countable noun for one update or event: a daily synchronization.
Patterns
- data synchronization
- synchronization between devices
- automatic synchronization of files
Automatic synchronization keeps the same contacts on my phone and laptop.
After the synchronization, the backup drive matched the main server.
noununcountablemusic
In music or performance, the condition of players, singers, or movements happening together cleanly.
Grammar: No plural here; it names quality of togetherness rather than a countable thing.
Patterns
- tight synchronization
- lose synchronization
- synchronization with the beat
The choir's synchronization improved after weeks of rehearsal.
The drummer lost synchronization with the bass for a few bars.
noununcountablebiology
In biology, timed matching of events such as breeding, flashing, or emergence within a group or population.
Grammar: Typically used in scientific description; not usually pluralized in everyday talk.
Patterns
- synchronization of breeding
- synchronization among fireflies
- seasonal synchronization
Researchers study the synchronization of firefly flashes in warm evenings.
The synchronization of breeding can help a vulnerable population recover.
Common combinations
- tight synchronization
- Tight synchronization kept the rowing crew gliding smoothly.
- in synchronization with
- The subtitles stayed in synchronization with the dialogue.
- data synchronization
- Data synchronization failed when the Wi-Fi dropped.
- synchronization between A and B
- There is a delay in synchronization between the two sensors.
- lose synchronization
- The robots lost synchronization after one motor overheated.
Synonyms and how they differ
- coordination
- Broader: it covers arranging people or parts, but does not always imply exact same timing.
- timing
- Refers to choosing or judging when something happens; synchronization stresses matching separate things.
- alignment
- Can mean agreement or correct position; only in context does it suggest shared timing.
- synchrony
- A more formal noun for the state of occurring together, less used for the process of making that happen.
Opposites
Word family
- synchronize verb
- To make things happen or operate at the same time.
- synchronous adjective
- Happening or operating at the same time.
- synchronously adverb
- In a way that occurs at the same time.
- asynchronous adjective
- Not occurring at the same time, common in computing and class schedules.
Commonly confused: synchronization or synchronisation? synchronization or simultaneous?
synchronization vs synchronisation
This is the British spelling; American English normally uses synchronization with z.
synchronization vs simultaneous
Simultaneous is an adjective meaning at the same moment; synchronization is the noun for the process or state of matching timing.
Practice
Choose the best completion: “The video was slightly out of synchronization ___ the soundtrack.”
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is “out of synchronization with,” so “with” fits. “Between” can appear in “synchronization between An and B,” but the pattern here is “out of synchronization with.”
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synchronization”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.