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Can someone tell me, which of the following terms should be used or avoided? (Google shows the presence of all the candidate terms.)

  • synthesis route
  • synthetic route
  • route of synthesis
  • synthesis pathway
  • synthetic pathway

Imagine for example a sentence such as "A new ... was developed."

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closed as primarily opinion-based by RE60K, Freddy, Del Pate, LDC3, Jannis Andreska Apr 26 '15 at 18:47

Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.

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    $\begingroup$ all of these seem pretty acceptable. there is no definitive rule on this $\endgroup$ – bon Mar 25 '15 at 13:40
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    $\begingroup$ In your example, "synthetic route" or "synthetic pathway" would fit best. I suppose it is a matter of personal style, but that's what sounds best to me. $\endgroup$ – ron Mar 25 '15 at 13:41
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    $\begingroup$ I like concision, so I would vote for "A new synthesis was developed." You don't need any extra words in there; the meaning is clear from "synthesis" alone. $\endgroup$ – Curt F. Mar 25 '15 at 15:15
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    $\begingroup$ Synthetic is an adjective, which seems to more naturally modify the following 'pathway' in English. While I am not a native German speaker, my understanding is that combining nouns is natural in that language and as such 'Synthesis Pathway, makes more sense. $\endgroup$ – Lighthart Mar 25 '15 at 17:59
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    $\begingroup$ Ask this question on English SE. $\endgroup$ – Asker123 Apr 26 '15 at 13:54

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