synthesize

verb syn·the·size \ ˈsin(t)-thə-ˌsīz \

Updated on: 8 Apr 2018

Definition of synthesize

synthesized; synthesizing

transitive verb

1 : to combine or produce by synthesis

2 : to make a synthesis of

3 : to produce (something, such as music) by an electronic synthesizer

intransitive verb

: to make a synthesis

See synthesize defined for English-language learners

See synthesize defined for kids

Examples of synthesize in a Sentence

She synthesized the treatment from traditional and modern philosophies of medicine.
He synthesized old and new ideas to form his theory.
Amino acid is synthesized in the body.

Recent Examples of synthesize from the Web

Today, new technologies promise to synthesize masses of publication data for scientists.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "The Woman Who Knows Everything About the Universe," 4 Apr. 2018
His books work by synthesizing diverse themes and stories into intricate patterns.

— sam sacks, WSJ, "Fiction Chronicle: The Feminist Circle of Life," 30 Mar. 2018
Recorded in Washington's former family home in Inglewood, Porter's debut synthesizes jazz and funk with an infectious, upbeat energy that reflects the hope Porter saw in Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

— chris barton, latimes.com, "Overrated/Underrated: R.I.P., Meltdown Comics, and sure, delete Facebook (if you dare)," 29 Mar. 2018
Eventually that could lead to industrial microbes that synthesize one key component of gasoline.

— robert f. service, Science | AAAS, "In 1986, scientists found fuel-producing bacteria at the bottom of a Swiss lake. Now, they know how it works," 21 Mar. 2018
His mathematical and physical insights into black holes have been astonishing, which at some level synthesized general relativity and quantum mechanics.

— alan duffy, Newsweek, "Scientists on Stephen Hawking: Legendary Cosmologist, Intellectual Giant and A-list Celebrity," 14 Mar. 2018
Her achievement was to synthesize this work through the framework of two seemingly disparate fields: geology and neurology.

— leila mcneill, Smithsonian, "The Woman Who Shaped the Study of Fossil Brains," 1 Mar. 2018
There is no Pentagon process for synthesizing all the observations the military is making.

— Anchorage Daily News, "The Pentagon isn’t taking UFOs seriously enough," 16 Mar. 2018
Her detailed and difficult-to-synthesize economic plan had no core message, partly due to Clinton’s policy sprawl and partly due to the assumption that a core message wasn’t really necessary.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Trump’s Economic Trap," 16 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'synthesize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Synthesize is a very common word in chemistry, since chemists are constantly synthesizing new compounds—that is, synthetic compounds—including drugs and industrial chemicals. It's also often used when talking about writing; nonfiction writers must often synthesize large amounts of material from many sources to produce a book—which represents a synthesis of the important materials. An electronic synthesizercreates new sounds (which may imitate the sounds of acoustic instruments) by generating different basic tones and then manipulating and merging them together with others.