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natural Definition

natu·ral (nac̸h′ər əl, nac̸h′rəl)

adjective

  1. of or arising from nature; in accordance with what is found or expected in nature
  2. produced or existing in nature; not artificial or manufactured
  3. dealing with nature as an object of study a natural science
  4. in a state provided by nature, without man-made changes; wild; uncultivated
  5. of the real or physical world as distinguished from a spiritual, intellectual, or imaginary world
    1. present by virtue of nature; innate; not acquired
    2. having certain qualities, abilities, etc. innately a natural comedian
  7. innately felt to be right; based on instinctive moral feeling natural rights
  8. true to nature; lifelike a natural likeness
  9. normal or usual; in the ordinary course of events a natural outcome
  10. customarily expected or accepted a natural courtesy
  11. free from affectation or artificiality; at ease a natural smile
  12. without a legal relationship; specif.,
    1. illegitimate a natural child
    2. relating biologically rather than by adoption natural parents
  13. with little or no processing, artificial ingredients or preservatives natural food
  14. off-white, light-beige, etc.
  15. resulting from age, disease, etc. rather than an accident, violence, etc. a natural death, death from natural causes
  16. Biol. designating or of a system of classification based on complete structure and characteristics
  17. Math.
    1. designating or of an integer or any number referred to 1 as the base
    2. designating or of an actual number as distinguished from its logarithm a natural sine, cosine, etc.
  18. Music
    1. without flats or sharps, as the key of C major
    2. modified in pitch by the sign (♮)
    3. neither sharped nor flatted

Etymology: OFr < L naturalis, by birth, according to nature

noun

  1. a person without normal intelligence; fool; idiot
  2. Informal a person who is or seems to be naturally expert
  3. ☆ Informal a thing that is, or promises to be, immediately successful
  4. ☆ Informal a winning roll of 7 or 11 on a first throw in craps
  5. Music
    1. a sign (♮) used to remove the effect of a preceding sharp or flat within the measure in which it occurs
    2. the note so changed
    3. a white key on a piano

natural Related Forms

nat′u·ral·ness noun

natural Synonyms

natural

modif.

  1. Rooted in nature

    intrinsic, original, essential, true, fundamental, inborn, ingrained, inherent, instinctive, implanted, innate, inbred, subjective, inherited, congenital, genetic, incarnate, bred in the bone; see also native 1.

    Antonyms foreign*, alien*, acquired. *

  2. To be expected

    normal, typical, characteristic, usual, customary, habitual, accustomed, involuntary, spontaneous, uncontrolled, uncontrollable, wonted, familiar, expected, routine, regular, common, universal, prevailing, prevalent, general, uniform, constant, consistent, probable, predictable, ordinary, logical, reasonable, anticipated, looked for, hoped for, counted on, relied on, generally occurring, in the natural course of events, matter-of-course; see also regular 3.

    Antonyms unusual*, unexpected*, unheard of. *

  3. Not affected

    ingenuous, simple, artless, innocent, spontaneous, impulsive, childlike, unfeigned, unaffected, open, frank, candid, unsophisticated, homey, unpretentious, forthright, sincere, unstudied, straightforward, undesigning, being oneself, unsuspecting, credulous, trusting, plain, unassumed, direct, unpolished, rustic; see also naive.

    Antonyms ornate* pretentious, affected.

  4. Concerning the physical universe

    actual, tangible, according to nature; see physical 1, real. See syn. study at normal.

natural Usage Examples

Possessives

disaster: The problem today Drought and other ' natural ' disasters are often wrongly blamed for causing famines.

Modifying Another Word

  • perfectly: Her friends told her she was worrying unnecessarily, a perfectly natural reaction for a new mom.
  • entirely: His use of natural features and of partially buried field boundary walls gives the course an entirely natural feel.
  • totally: Omnilux Revive, the totally natural method of light only skin rejuvenation.
  • quite: The dame was exceedingly quick in observing their love, which she seemed to consider quite natural.
  • only: Its only natural for you to be down after all the turmoil you've been through over the last few months.

Infinitive complement

  • suppose: It would be natural to suppose that the village priest was not a good one and had carried out the ritual incorrectly.
  • conclude: It is natural to conclude that the ' common architect's ' work is of no significance.
  • worry: It is very natural to worry when you can't sleep.

Modifies a noun

  • beauty: A ) Marvel at the natural beauty of the universe.
  • disaster: Natural disasters have been causing lots of problems recently.
  • habitat: However, woodland is their natural habitat where fallen leaves hide their presence.
  • resource: At the same time, mercury is a valuable natural resource.
  • environment: The superb natural environment at Newton Park lakes, streams, grasslands, woods provide a unique base for study.
  • selection: That's the kind of thing natural selection does all the time.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Seems very very natural, not at all forced.
  • appear: Flesh tones appear natural when not basked in various light sources, as scenes switch from cold snowscapes to warm, red evenings.
  • feel: Those who can type very well can frequently choose a password based on a sequence of keystrokes that feel natural.
  • look: An oiled surface is ideal if you want the floor to look as natural as possible.
  • become: We can always hope for a future in which the understanding of hormones has increased to such an extent that good behavior becomes natural.