From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Synthetic \Syn*thet"ic\, Synthetical \Syn*thet"ic*al\, adjective [Gr. ?: cf. F. synth['e]tique.]
1. Of or pertaining to synthesis; consisting in synthesis or composition; as, the synthetic method of reasoning, as opposed to analytical.
Philosophers hasten too much from the analytic to the synthetic method; that is, they draw general conclusions from too small a number of particular observations and experiments. --Bolingbroke.
2. (Chem.) Artificial. Cf. {Synthesis}, 2.
3. (Zo["o]l.) Comprising within itself structural or other characters which are usually found only in two or more diverse groups; -- said of species, genera, and higher groups. See the Note under {Comprehensive}, 3.
{Synthetic language}, or {Synthetical language}, an inflectional language, or one characterized by grammatical endings; -- opposed to {analytic language}. --R. Morris.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: not of natural origin; prepared or made artificially; "man-made fibers"; "synthetic leather" [syn: {man-made}, {semisynthetic}]
2: involving or of the nature of synthesis (combining separate elements to form a coherent whole) as opposed to analysis; "limnology is essentially a synthetic science composed of elements...that extend well beyond the limits of biology"- P.S.Welch [syn: {synthetical}] [ant: {analytic}]
3: systematic combining of root and modifying elements into single words [ant: {analytic}]
4: of a proposition whose truth value is determined by observation or facts; "'all men are arrogant' is a synthetic proposition" [syn: {synthetical}] [ant: {analytic}]
5: artificial as if portrayed in a film; "a novel with flat celluloid characters" [syn: {celluloid}]
6: not genuine or natural; "counterfeit rhetoric that flourishes when passions are synthetic"- George Will
noun
1: a compound made artificially by chemical reactions
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
28 Moby Thesaurus words for "synthetic": adhesive, artificial, bogus, cast plastic, cellulose plastic, counterfeit, ersatz, extruded plastic, fake, false, imitation, laminate, man-made, manufactured, mock, molded plastic, molding compounds, plastic, polymer, protein plastic, pseudo, resin plastic, sham, spurious, synthetic fabric, synthetic rubber, thermoplastic, thermosetting plastic
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