Concept dictionary
Synthetic Data
Synthetic data is artificially generated data designed to reproduce selected characteristics or situations for training, testing, simulation, analysis, or other uses.
- Review state
- Reviewed in POC
- Freshness
- Current
- Version
- 2
Also called
- Synthetic Data
Remember it this waySynthetic data is created to stand in for selected parts of reality.
In plain language
Software creates records, images, text, signals, or environments instead of collecting each item directly from the real-world population or process of interest.
Why it matters
Synthetic data can expand rare cases, support testing, or reduce some privacy exposure, but it can also reproduce assumptions, miss important variation, or create hidden feedback loops.
Example
A team generates simulated equipment-failure signals to test detection software against events that are rare in historical records.
Common misconception
Synthetic does not mean anonymous, unbiased, realistic, or safe. Generated records may still reflect real people, source data, or flawed assumptions.
Related terms
Sources
- NIST SP 800-188, De-Identifying Government Datasetsauthoritative treatment of synthetic data as a privacy-preserving publication technique and its limits.
- NIST, SDNist: Synthetic Data Report Toolofficial tool and guidance for evaluating synthetic-data utility and privacy.
Learn more
- Preserve origin and generation method through [[data-provenance|Data Provenance]].