Pronunciations (2)
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/sɪnˈkɹɛtɪk/
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sɪŋˈkɹɛtɪk
Adjective
Combining disparate elements in one system, especially as in forms of religious observance, philosophical systems, or artistic creations.
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More examples (3)
In Islamic villages below Tengger, however, more syncretic communities still celebrate annual village ritual festivals (slametan desa, slametan tuyo) designed to give homage to the spirits of the mountains and insure the flow of their waters.
1999, John B. Henderson, Imagining Boundaries: Changing Confucian Doctrines, Texts, and Hermeneutics, Kai-wing Chow, On Cho Ng, John B. Henderson (editors), Imagining Boundaries: Changing Confucian Doctrines, Texts, and Hermeneutics, State University of New York Press, page 112, From the point of view of many late Ming and Ch'ing scholars, the most syncretic, as well as the most threatening heretic of all was a nominal Confucian, Wang Yang-ming (1472-1528).
To cite another obvious case, there can be few things more syncretic than Roman Catholic canon law, where the doctrine of a Galilean peasant was built into Roman imperial legality.
Adjective
relating to a historical tendency for a language to reduce its use of inflections
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modern English is a syncretic language
of or characterized by syncretism