Synthetic Meaning
/sɪnˈθɛtɪk/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjOf, or relating to synthesis.
adjProduced by synthesis instead of being isolated from a natural source (but may be identical to a product so obtained).
Sentence Examples
The chairs are made of a synthetic material.
I'm allergic to synthetic rubber.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fabric is made from ____ fibers, not natural cotton.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Many of the clothes we wear today are made from ____ fibers rather than from natural materials like cotton or wool today.
Word Origin & History
From French synthétique, from Ancient Greek συνθετικός (sunthetikós); Equivalent to synthesis + -ic (suffix formation of -tic).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As the world's drug habit shows, governments are failing in their quest to monitor every London window-box and Andean hillside for banned plants. But even that Sisyphean task looks easy next to the fight against synthetic drugs. No sooner has a drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one."
— 2013 August 10, “A new prescription”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
"Only plastics and synthetics that cannot be recycled will end up in landfills, he said."
— 2007 January 14, Elsa Brenner, “Art House to Get a Campus”, in New York Times:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The fabric is made from ____ fibers, not natural cotton.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Many of the clothes we wear today are made from ____ fibers rather than from natural materials like cotton or wool today.