Sync v Shortcut to OneDrive. What's the difference?

John Sellars  Thank you for the very eloquent and clear articulation of the confusion Microsoft has created in this space.  I share your frustration entirely. It baffles me how Microsoft releases illogical and baffling explanations of what these functions are and then an army of so-called MVPs proceeds to regurgitate exactly the same nonsense under the guise of clarifying the issue.

My expectation from the terms "Sync" and "Shortcut" is exactly the same as yours but I was beginning to doubt my sanity on googling this and finding post after post of "Microsoft Speak".