What does "synthesizer" mean?

An electronic musical instrument that creates its sounds with electronics and generally is played via a keyboard.

What is a synonym for "synthesizer"?

Common synonyms include: keyboard, synthesiser, synthesist, synthesist.

Pronounced //ˈsɪn.θəˌsaɪ.zɚ//.

//ˈsɪn.θəˌsaɪ.zɚ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
An electronic musical instrument that creates its sounds with electronics and generally is played via a keyboard.
2
(music) an electronic instrument (usually played with a keyboard) that generates and modifies sounds electronically and can imitate a variety of other musical instruments wordnet
3
An electronic instrument consisting of a module, or a set of modules, that creates its sounds with electronics and does not have any keyboard.
4
an intellectual who synthesizes or uses synthetic methods wordnet
5
An electronic circuit that generates an electronic signal oscillation with accurate timing from a reference oscillator.

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6
An electronic device that generates electronic signal patterns to test an electronic circuit.
7
A software program that allows a computer to be used as a musical instrument – virtual instrument

"The mod wheel is broken on this synthesizer, but the pitch bend still works."

From synthesize + -er.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.