natural
/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/ adjective, noun, adverb
Forms naturals naturall nat'ral
- adjective Existing in the nature of a person or thing; innate, not acquired or learned.
- adjective Normally associated with a particular person or thing; inherently related to the nature of a thing or creature. “The species will be under threat if its natural habitat is destroyed.”
- adjective As expected; reasonable, normal; naturally arising from the given circumstances. “It's natural for business to be slow on Tuesdays.”
- adjective Formed by nature; not manufactured or created by artificial processes.
- adjective Pertaining to death brought about by disease or old age, rather than by violence, accident etc. “She died of natural causes.”
- adjective Having an innate ability to fill a given role or profession, or display a specified character.
- adjective Designating a standard trigonometric function of an angle, as opposed to the logarithmic function.
- adjective (algebra) Closed under submodules, direct sums, and injective hulls.
- noun (now rare) A native inhabitant of a place, country, etc.
- noun (music) A note that is not or is no longer to be modified by an accidental.
- noun (music) The symbol ♮ used to indicate such a natural note.
- noun One with an innate talent at or for something. “He's a natural on the saxophone.”
- noun (uncountable) An almost white colour, with tints of grey, yellow or brown; originally that of natural fabric.
- noun (archaic) One with a simple mind; a fool or idiot.
- noun (colloquial, chiefly UK) One's life.
- noun (US, colloquial) A hairstyle for people with Afro-textured hair in which the hair is not straightened or otherwise treated.
- adverb (colloquial, dialect) Naturally; in a natural manner.
Synonyms
congenital inborn connate connatural congenite genetous inbred indigenous ingenite innate native to the manner born unlearned unlearnt aboriginal autochthonal autochthonous endemic inlandish inevitable cancel instinctive raw rude born lifelike
Antonyms
aberrant abnormal artificial unexpected weird avertable avoidable dodgeable escapable evadable evitable fleeable unnatural supernatural sharp flat
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English natural, borrowed from Old French natural, naturel, from Latin nātūrālis, from nātus, the perfect participle of nāscor (“be born”, verb). Displaced native Old English ġecynde. By surface analysis, natur(e) + -al.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Fixed or determined by nature; pertaining to the constitution of a thing; belonging to native character; according to nature; essential; characteristic; not artifical, foreign, assumed, put on, or acquired; as, the natural growth of animals or plants; the natural motion of a gravitating body; natural strength or disposition; the natural heat of the body; natural color.
- adjective Conformed to the order, laws, or actual facts, of nature; consonant to the methods of nature; according to the stated course of things, or in accordance with the laws which govern events, feelings, etc.; not exceptional or violent; legitimate; normal; regular; as, the natural consequence of crime; a natural death.
- noun A native; an aboriginal. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.
- noun pl.
Etymology [OE. naturel, F. naturel, fr. L. naturalis, fr. natura. See Nature.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “natural”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details