WordGarden.iosyntactically
C2Pronunciation
UK
US
Meanings
Adverb
with respect to syntax or grammatical structure
Beyond the definition
Imagine building with blocks. You can have all the pieces you need, but they will not make a castle unless you put them together in the right way. "Syntactically" describes whether something, usually a sentence or phrase, is put together correctly according to the rules of grammar. It is about the order and structure of words. A sentence can be correct in form even if the idea sounds strange. For example, "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously" follows the usual pattern of English grammar, even though the meaning is odd. You will often see this word in linguistics and computer programming, where structure matters a lot.
"Syntactically" refers to the way words are arranged in sentences to create well-formed phrases and clauses. In simple terms, it is about grammar and sentence structure. The word comes from "syntax," which is the set of rules that shows how words fit together. You can think of syntax as a blueprint for building a correct sentence.
Something can be syntactically correct, meaning it follows the rules of grammar, without making much sense. A sentence may have the right word order, verb form, and punctuation, yet still sound strange or absurd. Linguists often use examples like this to show that structure and meaning are not the same thing.
The term is also common in computer science and programming. Programming languages have strict rules for structure. One missing symbol, an extra comma, or the wrong keyword can make code fail. A compiler or interpreter first checks whether the code is syntactically correct before moving on to what the code actually means or does.
In linguistics, looking at sentences syntactically helps us understand how language is built and how ideas are expressed. The word is also useful when comparing languages, because different languages organize words in different ways.
So, if you are talking about the arrangement of words, grammatical correctness, or the structure of language or code, "syntactically" is the right word. It focuses on how something is formed, not necessarily on what it means.
Examples
- 1
Grammar accuracy
The sentence is syntactically correct, but it still sounds unnatural to a native speaker.
- 2
Programming error
The compiler found a missing bracket, so the code was no longer syntactically valid.
- 3
Language comparison
English and Japanese can express the same idea, but they do it syntactically in very different ways.
- 4
AI output
The chatbot produced fluent words, yet some of its answers were syntactically incomplete.
See also
Similar
- grammatically
- in syntactic terms
Shades of meaning
- structurally
- morphosyntactically
Contrast
Used with (collocations)
- syntactically correct
- syntactically valid
- syntactically ambiguous
- analyze syntactically
Word family
Explore
- parse
- sentence structure
Forms and spellings
1 form open this card.
Main spelling
- syntacticallyadverb