-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
syntactic
adjective
syn·tac·tic
sin-ˈtak-tik
variants
or syntactical
: of, relating to, or according to the rules of syntax or syntactics
Examples of syntactic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
On top of that sequence, there's a structure, a syntactic tree that includes noun phrases and verb phrases.
—IEEE Spectrum, 14 Oct. 2021
After hundreds of trial and error steps, just like with biological evolution, the system evolves the best meaning and their syntactic/grammatical translation.
—IEEE Spectrum, 17 Mar. 2016
Most of their bulk comes from blocks of syntactic foam—a buoyant, crush-resistant material made of glass microspheres in epoxy resin—that are padded around the frame.
—Susan Casey, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Aug. 2023
Additionally, simply by filling in enough puzzles, our brains can learn that multi-word crossword answers must form what linguists call a syntactic constituent—a group of words that functions together as a complete unit, the way safe and reliable does but safe and doesn’t.
—Scott Anderbois, The Atlantic, 6 Aug. 2023
See all Example Sentences for syntactic
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
New Latin syntacticus, from Greek syntaktikos arranging together, from syntassein
First Known Use
1577, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near syntactic
Cite this Entry
“Syntactic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syntactic. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
syntactic
adjective
syn·tac·tic
sin-ˈtak-tik
variants
or syntactical
: of, relating to, or according to the rules of syntax
Medical Definition
syntactic
adjective
syn·tac·tic
sin-ˈtak-tik
variants
or syntactical
: of or relating to syntactics
More from Merriam-Webster on syntactic
Nglish: Translation of syntactic for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of syntactic for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share