Synergy
noun /ˈsɪnədʒi/ — When together produces more than the sum of separate parts.
Definition
The interaction or cooperation of two or more people, organisations, or ideas to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
Beyond the definition
The most mocked word in corporate vocabulary — and yet the concept is real and profound. When the right people, ideas, or materials combine, something genuinely new emerges. The word doesn't deserve what has been done to it.
Origin & history
From Greek synergía — working together (syn- 'together' + ergon 'work'). From the same root as energy.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The synergy between the two teams produced a product neither could have built alone.
Good partnerships have synergy — you'd both do less without the other.
Synergy is real. It just doesn't happen automatically when you put people in the same room.
Synonyms
cooperation, collaboration, combined force, integration
Antonyms
conflict, fragmentation, redundancy
Related words
Synergy vs collaboration
Collaboration is working together — people combining efforts toward a shared goal. Synergy is what happens when the combination produces something more than either could alone — the emergent property of the partnership. You can collaborate without achieving synergy; synergy is the best-case outcome of good collaboration. Collaboration describes the process; synergy describes the result when that process genuinely multiplies what each party could do independently.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Three adults building bridge model
Three adults cooperate around a table to build a bridge model, their individual pieces interlocking into one supported structure.
The way the three adults work together to create a structure greater than any single piece could achieve illustrates the power of interaction and cooperative effort to multiply results.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration