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synthesis

/ˈsɪnθəsɪs//ˈsɪnθəsɪs/·noun
the combining of separate elements into a new, coherent whole
Fig. 1 — A circle and a square rush in from opposite sides, collide head-on, and bounce apart — the first round of an argument.
01Definition

Synthesis is creation by combination: parts, brought together, becoming something none of them was. Chemists synthesize compounds from elements; plants synthesize sugar from light and air; a good thesis synthesizes a shelf of sources into one argument that belongs to its author. From the Greek syn- (together) + tithenai (to place). The opposite of analysis, which takes things apart to understand them — synthesis puts them together to make something new.

02In use
  • iHer book is a masterful synthesis, making economics, psychology, and history converge on one argument.
  • iiPhotosynthesis is the synthesis of sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
  • iiiThe final chapter offers a synthesis of the competing theories — more coherent than any of them alone.
03Collocations
  • a synthesis of
  • protein synthesis
  • the synthesis of ideas
  • synthesize information

Family synthesize (verb) · synthetic (adjective) · syntheses (plural)

04Relations

=combination, fusion, integration, amalgamation, blend

≠analysis, separation

06TOEFL & IELTS

The TOEFL integrated writing task literally is one — combining the lecture and the reading is an act of synthesis, and rubrics say so. Science passages rely on 'photosynthesis' and 'protein synthesis'; the verb 'synthesize' and plural 'syntheses' both appear. For IELTS, 'a synthesis of tradition and innovation' is an elegant essay move.

07Asked
What is the difference between synthesis and analysis?
Opposite directions. Analysis takes something apart to understand its pieces; synthesis puts pieces together to make something new. You analyse a poem into its images and rhythms; you synthesise several critics into one reading of your own. Most real thinking uses both — break the material down to grasp it (analysis), then build a fresh whole from what you found (synthesis).
What does synthesis mean?
Creation by combination — separate parts brought together into a new whole that none of them was alone. Chemists synthesize compounds from elements; a good essay synthesizes many sources into one argument. From Greek syn- 'together' plus tithenai 'to place'. The scene above is synthesis itself: a circle and a square collide and merge into a third form, rounder than the square, straighter than the circle, needing both to exist.
What does it mean to synthesize sources?
To combine what several sources say into a single, integrated point that is yours — not summarising them one after another, but weaving them so they speak together. Where a list reports 'A says this; B says that', synthesis says 'A and B together suggest this'. The verb keeps the word's core: the value is in the combination, the new whole that none of the sources stated alone.
What is the plural of synthesis?
Syntheses, pronounced SIN-thuh-seez — the -is ending becomes -es, exactly as in thesis/theses, crisis/crises and analysis/analyses. These Greek-derived nouns all shift the same way, so learning one teaches the set. Note the sound change too: the singular ends in a soft 'sis', the plural in 'seez', which is where speakers most often stumble.