Meaning & use
synthesize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To combine separate ideas, information, or elements into a single clear and connected whole.
Grammar: Takes an object: synthesize the results; common in academic writing. British spelling: synthesise.
Patterns
- synthesize information
- synthesize ideas into something
- synthesize the findings
In her essay, Ana synthesized the ideas of three historians into one clear argument.
The report synthesizes data from twenty different studies.
verbtransitivechemistry
To produce a substance by combining chemicals artificially rather than extracting it from natural sources.
Grammar: Takes the substance as object: synthesize a compound; common in chemistry and pharmacy.
Patterns
- synthesize a compound
- synthesize a drug
- chemically synthesized
Scientists first synthesized the vitamin in a laboratory in 1935.
The drug is cheaper now that it can be synthesized instead of grown.
Word forms
| third person singular | synthesizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | synthesized |
| past participle | synthesized |
| -ing form | synthesizing |
Common combinations
- synthesize information
- A good essay synthesizes information from several sources instead of quoting one.
- synthesize the findings
- The committee synthesized the findings into a short summary for the public.
- chemically synthesized
- The flavor is chemically synthesized, yet it tastes surprisingly natural.
- synthesize a compound
- It took the team two years to synthesize the compound safely.
Synonyms and how they differ
- combine
- Combine is the general word for joining things; synthesize adds the idea of creating a new, coherent whole.
- integrate
- Integrate means fitting parts into an existing system; synthesize means merging them into something new.
- manufacture
- Manufacture means producing goods in quantity; synthesize specifically means building a substance from simpler chemicals.
Opposites
Word family
- synthesis noun
- The act or result of combining parts into a whole.
- synthetic adjective
- Made artificially rather than found in nature.
- synthetically adverb
- In an artificial, laboratory-made way.
- synthesizer noun
- An electronic musical instrument that creates sounds; also a person or device that synthesizes.
Commonly confused: synthesize or analyze?
synthesize vs analyze
Analyze breaks a whole down into its parts to study them; synthesize does the opposite, joining parts into a whole.
Practice
For the final project, students had to ___ evidence from five sources into one argument.
Choose one answer.
Synthesize means to combine separate pieces of information into a single coherent whole, exactly what the task requires. Separate is the opposite process.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “synthesize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.