Dictionary
syn•cre•tism
Pronunciation: (sing'kri-tiz"um, sin'-), [key]—
n.
1. the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion.
2. Gram.the merging, as by historical change in a language, of two or more categories in a specified environment into one, as, in nonstandard English, the use of
was with both singular and plural subjects, while in standard English
was is used with singular subjects (except for
you in the second person singular) and
were with plural subjects.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.