Do synergy and synergism mean the same thing? Is there some sort of subtle difference in connotation? I'm asking in the context of American English, if it makes a difference.
Edit: the context is general use, rather than a specific area such as theology or pharmaceuticals. Dictionaries seem to give identical definitions, making me wonder about subtle connotations that may not appear in dictionaries, and also making me wonder if one or the other is more common.
In most contexts the two are interchangeable according to Cambridge, Merriam-Webster and Collins. Oxford Languages gives the exact same definition for both terms:
the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.
Collins, however, does make the distinction in Christian theology:
synergism
- Also called: synergy the working together of two or more drugs, muscles, etc, to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects
- another name for synergy (sense 1)
- Christian theology the doctrine or belief that the human will cooperates with the Holy Spirit and with divine grace, especially in the act of conversion or regeneration
Indeed, while synergism is a position, a doctrine (as opposed to monosynergism), synergy is a countable noun and describes the actual collaboration between the human will and divine grace.
Note that synergy is a countable noun and will take plural regardless of the meaning it is used in, whereas synergism will only take plural when it is used as a synonym of synergy.
Buckminster Fuller used synergy, to the point that his published works and theory became synonymous with synergy. It is just easier to talk about synergism these days because it can admit definitions and examples that deviate from Fuller's original works. Perhaps the other expounders of synergism wanted to avoid the pitfalls that happened with evolution, which remains obstinately glued to Darwin's original works in the minds of many.
The following is the opening paragraph from Synergetics by Barnabas D. Johnson. The material is copyrighted
link to the full article: Synergetics
No subject intrigues me more than synergy, synergetics, or synergism. These words are essentially interchangeable, and relate to a phenomenon that raises deep questions about causality: what makes things "happen" the way they do, especially when what is happening has a history reflecting evolutionary and hence coevolutionary relationships.
