mindmap root((SYN)) syntax The way in which words are put together to form phrases, clauses, or sentences.
🌱The president's critics complain about his odd and confusing syntax when he speaks in public. 🌳Syntax is basically about what word comes before and after another word; in other words, it's part of the larger subject of grammar. Syntax is often an issue in poetry, and it's usually discussed in connection with diction—that is, the poet's choice of words. So, for example, your English professor might point out the syntactic difference between "Whose woods these are I think I know" and "I think I know whose woods these are"; whereas if the discussion was about diction instead, the question might be about the choice of "woods" rather than "land," or "think" rather than "bet." synthesize To make something by combining different things.
🌱From all the proposals put in front of us, we were asked to synthesize a plan that could get the support of the whole group. 🌳Synthesize is a very common word in chemistry, since chemists are constantly synthesizing new compounds—that is, synthetic compounds—including drugs and industrial chemicals. It's also often used when talking about writing; nonfiction writers must often synthesize large amounts of material from many sources to produce a book—which represents a synthesis of the important materials. An electronic synthesizer creates new sounds （which may imitate the sounds of acoustic instruments） by generating different basic tones and then manipulating and merging them together with others. synergy The increased effectiveness that results when two or more people or businesses work together.
🌱With the first company's importance in print media and the second's success on the Web, everyone was convinced that the merger would result in an awesome synergy. 🌳An old saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," expresses the basic meaning of synergy. The word is sometimes used in a purely physical sense, especially when talking about drugs; sometimes a "cocktail" of drugs may be more effective than the sum of the effectiveness of each of the separate drugs. But the word is best known in the world of business. The notion that, when the right two companies merge, they'll produce a profitable synergy seemed exciting in the 1990s, when synergy became a trendy buzzword （even though it's actually been around since the 17th century）. The idea of synergy was one factor in what became a "merger mania"; unfortunately, business synergy often turned out to be harder to achieve than to imagine. syndrome A group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition.
🌱When there is no trembling—the most obvious symptom of Parkinson's disease—most doctors fail to recognize the Parkinson's syndrome. 🌳Combining its two Greek roots, syndrome means basically "running together." So when diagnosing a condition or disease, doctors tend to look for a group of symptoms existing together. As long as a set of symptoms remains mysterious, it may be referred to as a specific syndrome. But if that name is used for a while, it may become the condition's permanent name, even after an underlying cause has been found. So today we have Down syndrome, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Asperger's syndrome, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, Tourette's syndrome, sick building syndrome, and many more. And since mental conditions often turn out to have physical causes, syndrome is used in psychology as well as in medicine.