synthetic
part of speech
adjective (synthetic); noun (a synthetic, synthetics)
meaning for a pupil
1) Synthetic means made by people from chemicals or in a factory, not naturally grown or found: synthetic materials such as nylon, polyester and plastic. tree →
2) Synthetic also means fake or artificial: synthetic flavours, synthetic diamonds. tree →
3) (noun) Synthetics are synthetic materials or fabrics. tree →
4) (formal, science) Synthetic can mean made by combining parts into a whole (synthesis). tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons materials are sorted into natural (wool, cotton, wood) and synthetic (nylon, polyester, acrylic, plastics); pupils compare their properties, such as strength and waterproofing, and discuss pollution from microplastics. On food labels, synthetic colourings may be listed. Phrases: "synthetic fibre", "synthetic rubber", "synthetic grass", "synthetic drug".
examples
- Nylon is a synthetic fibre. tree →
- My raincoat is made of a synthetic material that keeps water out. tree →
- Wool is natural, but polyester is synthetic. tree →
- The pitch has synthetic grass, so it never needs mowing. tree →
- Synthetic rubber is made from oil. tree →
- Synthetic diamonds are made in labs. tree →
- Washing synthetics can release tiny plastic bits into the sea. tree →
note
Opposite: natural. Related: synthesis, synthesise. Synthetic does not always mean worse; many synthetic materials are very useful, such as medicines and safety gear.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «synthetic» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.