Synthesized

How to spell synthesized

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce synthesized

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does synthesized mean?

1. verbCombined separate elements into a single whole, or produced a substance by chemical reaction.

Synthesized in a sentence

• The chemist synthesized a new compound in the laboratory.

• The report synthesized data from three different surveys into one summary.

Where does synthesized come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek synthesis, meaning 'a putting together', which was itself built from syn- 'together' and tithenai 'to put or place'. The base verb 'synthesize' was coined in English in the nineteenth century, chiefly in chemistry, to describe the building up of a compound from simpler parts, and 'synthesized' is its past tense and past participle. The same tithenai root sits behind 'thesis', 'antithesis' and 'parenthesis', all of which share the idea of something placed or set down. The 'th' in the middle is the spot that catches writers, since the smooth 'synth' sound hides that buried 'h'. The -ize ending here follows the Greek-derived pattern that English shares with words like 'organize' and 'realize', and it is accepted alongside the -ise form across the major dialects.

How the word is built

• syn- (together)
• thes- (from Greek tithenai: to put or place)
• -ize (verb-forming)
• -ed (past tense)

British and American spelling

Synthesized is the American spelling. British English spells it synthesised.