Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Synergy

Syn′er-gy

,

Noun.

[Gr. [GREEK]. See

.]

2.

Combined action

; especially

(Med.)

,

the combined healthy action of every organ of a particular system;

as, the digestive

synergy

.

Definition 2025

synergy

synergy

English

Noun

synergy ‎(plural synergies)

Behavior of a system that cannot be predicted by the behavior of its parts.
(medicine) Combined action; the combined healthy action of every organ of a particular system; as, the digestive synergy.
(pharmacology) An interaction between drugs where the effects are stronger than their mere sum.
Benefits resulting from combining two different groups, people, objects or processes.

Usage notes

Synergy is frequently dismissed as business jargon.

Antonyms

anergy (in economics)

Related terms

energy

Translations

behavior of a system that cannot be predicted by the behavior of its parts

Chinese:
Mandarin: 協同效應, 协同效应 ‎(xiétóng xiàoyìng)
Dutch: synergie (nl) f
Esperanto: sinergio
Finnish: synergia (fi)
French: synergie (fr) f
German: Synergie (de) f

Hungarian: szinergia (hu)
Japanese: 相乗効果 ‎(そうじょうこうか, sōjō kōka), シナジー (ja) ‎(shinajī)
Norwegian: synergi
Portuguese: sinergia (pt) f
Russian: синерги́я (ru) f ‎(sinɛrgíja)
Spanish: sinergia (es) f
Swedish: synergi (sv) c, synergieffekt c

medicine: combined action

Dutch: synergie (nl) f
Finnish: yhteisvaikutus (fi)
French: synergie (fr) f

Greek: συνεργία (el) f ‎(synergía)
Icelandic: samvirkni f

pharmacology: interaction between drugs

result of combining two different groups, people, objects or processes

Dutch: synergie (nl) f
Finnish: synergia (fi)
French: synergie (fr) f
German: Synergie (de) f

Greek: συνεργία (el) f ‎(synergía), σύμπραξη (el) f ‎(sýmpraxi)
Japanese: 相乗効果 ‎(そうじょうこうか, sōjōkōka), シナジー ‎(shinajī)

External links

synergy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
synergy in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911