What Does the Word Synergistic Mean?

This article will describe the word "synergistic." A history of the base word and an explanation of the suffix will also be described. Synergistic is an adjective which describes something or someone as having synergy. An adjective describes or modifies a noun, which is a person, place or thing.

Etymology

The base word of synergistic is "synergy" which has its origins in the ancient Greek language.

Base Word

The original definition of synergy is "joint work." The present-day definitions of "synergy" are: the inability to determine the actions of a group based on the known actions of the parts, and the benefits of collaborating with others.

Suffix

The base word of "synergistic" is the word "synergy." The suffix is "-ic." The suffix "-ic" is a Greek suffix meaning pertaining to, like or having (in nature) -- "-ic" is a stronger suffix than "-ous."

Antonym

An antonym of synergistic is "anergic," which describes something that does not respond in any way to a foreign or natural substance.

Misconceptions

Synergistic and its base word, synergy, are commonly believed to be "new" words created by today's business world. As learned in the Etymology section we know that this isn't the case; these words have been around a long, long time.