Meaning & use
synchronize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make two or more things happen at exactly the same time or speed.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with with: synchronize the clocks; synchronize one clock with another.
Patterns
- synchronize something with something
- synchronize something
- be synchronized
The swimmers synchronize their strokes so perfectly that they look like one body.
Before the mission, the officers synchronized their watches.
The director synchronized the music with the dancers' movements.
verbintransitive
To happen at the same time or rate as something else.
Grammar: No object; often followed by with: the sound did not synchronize with the picture.
Patterns
- synchronize with something
The lights synchronize with the beat of the song.
The two engines failed to synchronize, causing a loud vibration.
In the film, the voices do not synchronize with the actors' lips.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputing
To make the data on two or more devices or accounts match and stay up to date.
Grammar: Takes an object, or stands alone: synchronize your phone; your files synchronize automatically.
Patterns
- synchronize something with something
- synchronize across devices
The app will synchronize your calendar across all your devices.
My notes synchronize every time I connect to the internet.
Please synchronize the laptop with the server before you leave.
Word forms
| third person singular | synchronizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | synchronized |
| past participle | synchronized |
| -ing form | synchronizing |
Common combinations
- synchronize watches
- The team leaders synchronized watches before the operation began.
- synchronize with the server
- The program will synchronize with the server every hour.
- synchronize your calendar
- You can synchronize your calendar with your phone.
- perfectly synchronized
- The dancers were perfectly synchronized.
- synchronize movements
- Rowers must synchronize their movements to win.
Synonyms and how they differ
- coordinate
- Coordinate means to organize things so they work together smoothly, but they need not happen at exactly the same moment as with synchronize.
- sync
- Sync is the informal short form, widely used for devices and files, while synchronize sounds more formal.
- align
- Align means to bring things into line or agreement, and need not involve timing, unlike synchronize.
- harmonize
- Harmonize means to make things fit together pleasantly, often sounds or interests, while synchronize focuses on timing.
Opposites
Word family
- synchronization noun
- the act of making things happen at the same time
- synchronous adjective
- happening at the same time or rate
- synchronized adjective
- made to happen at the same time, as in synchronized swimming
- synchrony noun
- the state of happening at the same time
Commonly confused: synchronize or synthesize?
synchronize vs synthesize
Synthesize means to combine parts into a whole or to make something by chemical or electronic means, not to match timing.
Practice
Before the concert, the engineer had to ______ the video with the live audio.
Choose one answer.
Synchronize with means to match timing, which is what video and audio need. Synthesize means to create or combine, which does not fit with the video with the live audio.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synchronize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.