synthesis

Synthesis is the process of combining two or more constituent elements to form a connected, more complex whole. The term comes from the Greek synthesis, meaning “placing together.” In everyday usage, synthesis contrasts with analysis, which breaks something down into parts.

In chemistry, synthesis denotes constructing complex molecules from simpler starting materials. Synthesis planning, or retrosynthesis, seeks routes to a target compound by identifying precursor steps that could lead to it. Reactions, reagents, purification, and yield are key considerations in chemical synthesis, which underpins fields from pharmaceuticals to materials science.

In biology, biosynthesis refers to cellular production of complex molecules from simpler ones. A well-known example is protein synthesis, which involves transcription of DNA into messenger RNA and translation of that RNA into a polypeptide at ribosomes, aided by transfer RNA and amino acids. Biosynthetic pathways are typically regulated and energy-dependent, enabling cells to build macromolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids.

In linguistics, synthesis describes how a language expresses meaning through word forms, affixes, or compounding. Synthetic languages use morphology to convey grammatical relations, whereas analytic languages rely more on word order and auxiliary words. The degree of synthesis influences how information is packaged in a given language.

In other contexts, synthesis can refer to the integration of ideas, data, or artistic elements. In philosophy, it denotes the combining of theses to form a higher-level synthesis. In music and sound design, synthesis refers to generating audio signals electronically, using methods such as subtractive, additive, or frequency modulation synthesis.