In-sync

Working, moving, or responding together with well-matched timing.

Reach for it when praising smooth coordination among people or systems

The singers were in-sync before the conductor lowered her hands.

• playful

  on the same wavelength

  people understand each other with little explanation

  not when The phrase is conversational and cannot describe clocked systems precisely.

• everyday

  aligned

  goals or decisions point in the same direction

  not when Aligned concerns direction and may leave day-to-day timing unresolved.

• warm

  in harmony

  parts or people fit pleasantly without conflict

  not when Harmony can describe agreement without operational coordination.

• professional

  coordinated

  different actions combine effectively

  not when Coordination can succeed despite slight timing differences.

• professional

  synchronized

  precise timing can be observed or measured

  not when Synchronized may sound mechanical when people simply understand one another well.

• literary

  attuned

  sensitivity to one another produces a responsive fit

  not when Attuned can be one-sided and does not guarantee joint timing.

• desynchronized
• misaligned
• discordant

• work in-sync

  The two pumps must work in-sync during the transfer.

• stay in-sync

  A shared checklist helps the remote crews stay in-sync.

• perfectly in-sync

  The quartet sounded perfectly in-sync without losing individual character.

In-sync is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for sync, and the definition and example here are written for In-sync itself.

• Merriam-Webster, the entry for sync, idiom in sync: in a synchronized condition ↗opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.