syntactic — relating to syntax, the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: relating to syntax, the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
Pronunciation (IPA): /sɪnˈtæktɪk/
Example Sentences
- The professor's syntactic theories were so complicated that even his pet parrot started speaking in grammatically incorrect sentences.
- Children acquire syntactic knowledge naturally without formal grammar instruction.
- The AI program struggled with syntactic ambiguity in the sentence 'I saw the man with the telescope.'
syntactic
ADJECTIVE[/sɪnˈtæktɪk/]
relating to syntax, the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
While the random word blocks made no sense, the properly ordered blocks formed a clear syntactic structure.
The engineer arranged the code into a clean syntactic structure that worked perfectly. (SYNTAX + -TIC → SYNTACTIC)
Trying to relax before the story's climax, the writer corrected the awkward syntactic structure.
Got the picture? Now let's practice.
🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From Greek 'syntaxis' meaning 'arrangement together' or 'orderly arrangement.' The term was adopted into linguistics to describe the rules governing how words are properly arranged in sentences.
Breakdown
syn- (together/with) + tax- (arrangement/order) + -ic (adjective suffix meaning 'relating to')
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The professor's syntactic theories were so complicated that even his pet parrot started speaking in grammatically incorrect sentences.”
“Children acquire syntactic knowledge naturally without formal grammar instruction.”
“The AI program struggled with syntactic ambiguity in the sentence 'I saw the man with the telescope.'”
“His syntactic mistakes were so creative that linguists started studying them as a new dialect.”
📚Related Words
Want to master 27,000+ words?
Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.