📌 The Glossary is only available on Enterprise plans.
If you'd like to upgrade your plan, check out our plan upgrade guide.
What is the Glossary?
The Glossary is a workspace-level feature that lets you define rules for how specific terms are handled across all your videos — both how they are pronounced and how they are translated. Rules you set in the Glossary apply automatically across your workspace, so your team doesn't have to manage the same terms video by video.
You can use it to:
Define consistent translations for terms across multiple languages and locales
Prevent certain terms from being translated
Set how terms are pronounced, and control which voices or locales a pronunciation applies to
Manage and update entries in bulk using CSV imports
Automatically apply glossary rules when generating new translations
How to access the Glossary
Navigate to your Synthesia workspace.
Select Glossary in the left-hand menu.
✍️ By default, any workspace user can add, edit, or delete glossary terms. Workspace admins can restrict this so that only admins can make changes — see How to allow or restrict Glossary editing below.
How to add or edit a term
Go to the Glossary tab in the left-hand menu.
Select + New term.
Enter the term and select its original language.
You'll see two sections on the right: Pronunciation and Translation.
Under Pronunciation
Set how the term should be pronounced. You can either type a phonetic spelling or select Record to speak the pronunciation aloud.
Use the scope setting to control which voices the pronunciation applies to:
All voices in a language — the pronunciation applies to every voice in that language.
Specific voices — the pronunciation applies only to the voices you select.
Specific accent — the pronunciation applies only to a regional variant of the language, for example British English.
Under Translation
Toggle Don't translate if the term should stay the same across all languages (for example, acronyms or brand names). Or define translations for each target language and locale as needed.
5. Select Save to apply the term to your workspace glossary.
✍️ Glossary rules apply only when creating a new translation. Re-translate a video to apply updated glossary terms to an existing language version.
How to add a pronunciation to the Glossary from the editor
You can also add a pronunciation directly from the script editor while working on a video, without leaving your workflow.
📚 To learn more check out How do I use pronunciation in Synthesia?
How to manage translation terms from the editor
You can also access and manage your Translation Glossary directly from the editor while working on a video. This makes it easy to update terms without leaving your workflow.
Open a video in the editor.
Highlight the word in the script and select Add translation.
A panel will open where you can:
View any current translations
Toggle on Don't translate
Select Manage translations to open the full Glossary page in a new tab
View, add, or edit glossary terms as needed.
How to download your glossary as a CSV file
Go to the Glossary tab.
Select the Download option in the top-right corner.
The file will download to your device.
✍️ Each workspace has a separate glossary. Downloading and uploading a CSV file is the recommended way to keep glossary terms consistent across multiple workspaces.
How to import terms via a CSV file
Go to the Glossary tab.
Select Import CSV in the top-left corner.
Upload a CSV file with your terms and translations.
Conflicting rules for the same term and language will be replaced.
How to allow or restrict Glossary editing
Select your user icon in the top-right corner of the home page.
Select Account info from the dropdown menu.
Scroll down to General settings under your workspace name.
Toggle Restricted glossary management to restrict glossary management to workspace admins only.
💬FAQs
How is this difference between pronunciation and translation?
How is this difference between pronunciation and translation?
Translations control how written terms are translated across languages and locales. Pronunciation, on the other hand, controls how terms are pronounced.
Why aren’t my glossary updates reflected in my existing translated video?
Why aren’t my glossary updates reflected in my existing translated video?
Glossary rules apply only when you create a new translation. Updating a glossary term does not automatically change previously translated or dubbed video versions. To apply updated glossary rules, re-translate the video for the affected language — this will generate a new translated version using your latest glossary settings.
What is the recommended CSV format for importing glossary terms?
What is the recommended CSV format for importing glossary terms?
Your CSV should include fields for source language, source term, target language or locale, and target term. You can also include a "Do not translate" flag. For full details and structure, see the Translation Glossary documentation.
Can I have one glossary across multiple workspaces?
Can I have one glossary across multiple workspaces?
No. Each workspace has its own Glossary, and only one glossary can exist per workspace. If you need to use the same glossary in another workspace, download it as a CSV file and upload it there.
What's Next?
📚 To learn more about setting pronunciation in the editor, check out How do I use pronunciation in Synthesia?
📚 To learn more about translating your videos, check out How do I translate a video?