Home › Education & Pedagogy › Rote Learning vs Critical Thinking › synthesis

synthesis

SIN-thuh-sis /ˈsɪn.θə.sɪs/

nounC1GRESATGMATTOEFL

academicformal

The combination of ideas, components, or elements into a complex, unified whole.

Refers to creating something new and harmonious by blending diverse elements.

The story behind the word. From Ancient Greek 'synthesis', formed from 'syn-' (together) and 'tithenai' (to place). It literally means 'placing together'. Philosophers like Hegel used it to represent the higher truth that unifies a thesis and its opposing antithesis.

Word relationships

integration: 'Integration' means bringing parts into an existing system, while 'synthesis' emphasizes forming a distinct new entity.
amalgamation: 'Amalgamation' suggests combining separate things together, often without changing their individual identity.

analysis: Breaking a whole into parts, whereas synthesis builds parts into a whole.
division: Separating elements away from each other.

Commonly confused with

symbiosis: 'Symbiosis' is a mutually beneficial biological or personal relationship, while 'synthesis' is the combination of ideas or elements.

Word family

synthesize (verb): To combine diverse elements into a unified whole.
synthetic (adjective): Made by chemical synthesis; produced artificially.

Collocations

creative synthesis
synthesis of ideas
theoretical synthesis
achieve a synthesis

Example sentences

"Her paper presented a brilliant synthesis of evolutionary biology and behavioral psychology." Academic writing

Memory hook

SYNTHESIS = SYN (together) + THESIS (placed ideas). SYNTHESIS = putting different pieces together into one.

When not to use

Do not use when simply listing items together without integrating them.

Fun facts

The philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel popularised the triad: Thesis (idea), Antithesis (opposite idea), and Synthesis (unified higher truth).