SYNCHRONIZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does synchronize mean? 

• SYNCHRONIZE (verb)
  The verb SYNCHRONIZE has 6 senses:

1. make synchronous and adjust in time or manner

2. happen at the same time

3. make (motion picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action

4. arrange or represent events so that they co-occur

5. operate simultaneously

6. cause to indicate the same time or rate

  Familiarity information: SYNCHRONIZE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SYNCHRONIZE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they synchronize    ... he / she / it synchronizes   
Past simple: synchronized   
Past participle: synchronized   
-ing form: synchronizing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make synchronous and adjust in time or manner

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

sync; synchronise; synchronize

Context example:

Let's synchronize our efforts

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

adjust; correct; set (alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "synchronize"):

phase (adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Antonym:

desynchronize (cause to become desynchronized; cause to occur at unrelated times)

Derivation:

synchronization (coordinating by causing to indicate the same time)

synchronization (an adjustment that causes something to occur or recur in unison)

synchronizer (an instrument that indicates whether two periodic motions are synchronous (especially an instrument that enables a pilot to synchronize the propellers of a plane that has two or more engines))

synchronizing (coordinating by causing to indicate the same time)

synchronizing (an adjustment that causes something to occur or recur in unison)

synchrony (the relation that exists when things occur at the same time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Happen at the same time

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

contemporise; contemporize; synchronise; synchronize

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

come about; fall out; go on; hap; happen; occur; pass; pass off; take place (come to pass)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

synchronization; synchronizing; synchrony (the relation that exists when things occur at the same time)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make (motion picture sound) exactly simultaneous with the action

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

synchronise; synchronize

Context example:

synchronize this film

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Domain category:

film; flick; motion-picture show; motion picture; movie; moving-picture show; moving picture; pic; picture; picture show (a form of entertainment that enacts a story by sound and a sequence of images giving the illusion of continuous movement)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "synchronize"):

dub (provide (movies) with a soundtrack of a foreign language)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

synchrony (the relation that exists when things occur at the same time)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Arrange or represent events so that they co-occur

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

contemporise; contemporize; synchronise; synchronize

Context example:

synchronize biblical events

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

arrange; order; put; set up (arrange thoughts, ideas, temporal events)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

synchrony (the relation that exists when things occur at the same time)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Operate simultaneously

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

synchronise; synchronize

Context example:

The clocks synchronize

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

control; operate (handle and cause to function)

Verb group:

synchronise; synchronize (cause to indicate the same time or rate)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 6

Meaning:

Cause to indicate the same time or rate

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

synchronise; synchronize

Context example:

synchronize your watches

Hypernyms (to "synchronize" is one way to...):

adjust; align; aline; line up (place in a line or arrange so as to be parallel or straight)

Verb group:

synchronise; synchronize (operate simultaneously)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

Until now, most traditional research had suggested the hypothesis that the brain "synchronizes" according to what is heard, and correspondingly adjusts its rhythms to auditory stimuli.

(Our Brains Synchronize during A Conversation, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The procedure of matching and synchronizing ring-width variations and other structural characteristics among trees that have grown in nearby areas, allowing the identification of the exact year in which the ring was formed.

(Crossdating, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

Issue associated with a circuit, equipment, or system whereby its functions fail to be properly synchronized or its relative positions properly oriented.

(Failure to Align Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)

As if these communities are all on the same schedule, the changes are synchronized in reefs separated by hundreds of miles.

(Bacteria living near coral reefs change in synchrony across distances, National Science Foundation)

Gentle sound stimulation — such as the rush of a waterfall — synchronized to the rhythm of brain waves significantly enhanced deep sleep in older adults and improved their ability to recall words.

(Sound Waves Boost Older Adult' Memory, Deep Sleep, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

In the latter group of animals, the ripples in the hippocampus and cortex were no more synchronized before exploring the maze than afterwards.

(Study shows how memories ripple through the brain, National Institutes of Health)

The team found that identical twins had synchronized visual patterns, compared to non-identical twins and non-sibling pairs.

(Children’s visual engagement is heritable and altered in autism, National Institutes of Health)

The intercellular structures including the fascia adherens, gap junctions and macula adherens that connect single cardiac muscle cells to allow for synchronized contractions.

(Intercalated Disk, NCI Thesaurus)

A implantable cardiac pacemaker with an additional third lead placed in the left ventricle that is designed to keep the contractions of the ventricles synchronized with each other.

(Biventricular Pacemaker, NCI Thesaurus)

A public domain, binary file format that is used to record synchronized 3D and analog motion capture data.

(C3D Format, NCI Thesaurus)