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natural
[ nach-er-uhl, nach-ruhl ]
adjective
- existing in or formed by nature ( artificial ):
The river was spanned by a natural rock bridge.
- based on the state or behavior of things in nature; constituted by nature:
Growth is a natural process.
- of or relating to nature or the universe:
The natural beauty of this forest is remarkable.
- of, relating to, or occupied with the study of natural science:
The discovery of the laws of motion occurred through conducting natural experiments.
- (of land) in a state of nature; uncultivated.
- (of plants) growing spontaneously, without being planted or tended by humans.
- having undergone little or no processing and containing no chemical additives: Compare organic ( def 11 ).
The restaurant is famous for serving only natural food made with only natural ingredients.
- relating to hair, especially Black hair, that has not been straightened, permed, or otherwise altered in texture.
- of, relating to, or proper to the nature or essential constitution:
Her natural athletic ability had brought her a wonderful basketball career.
- having the specified character by nature; natural-born:
You can tell from his fun, interesting classes that he's a natural teacher.
- proper to the circumstances of the case:
The loss of his social circle was a natural result of his greed.
- free from affectation or constraint:
The celebrity had a charming and natural manner.
Synonyms: unmannered, genuine, unaffected, spontaneous
- arising easily or spontaneously:
The mayor is known for his natural courtesy to strangers.
- conforming with the nature or character of things:
That sentence may be grammatical, but it is not natural English.
- in accordance with or conforming to the ordinary course of things:
It was natural that he should hit back after being punched.
- (of a death) happening in the ordinary or usual course of things, without the intervention of accident, violence, etc.
- based upon the innate moral feeling of humankind:
natural justice.
- having or showing feelings, such as affection, gratitude, or kindness, considered part of basic human nature.
- true to or closely imitating nature:
It's a very natural portrait of her.
- not tinted or colored; undyed.
- not treated, tanned, refined, etc.; in its original or raw state:
natural wood;
natural cowhide.
- being or having a pale tannish or grayish-yellow color, as many woods and untreated animal skins.
- related by blood rather than by adoption.
- born of parents who are not married to each other; illegitimate:
a natural son.
- having a real or physical existence, as opposed to one that is spiritual, intellectual, fictitious, etc.
- (of theology) based on what is learned from nature rather than on revelation.
- unenlightened or unregenerate:
the natural man.
- Music.
- neither sharp nor flat.
- changed in pitch by the sign ♮.
- (of a horn or trumpet) having neither side holes nor valves.
- Cards.
- being a card other than a wild card or joker.
- (of a set or sequence of cards) containing no wild cards.
- Informal, nat. (in role-playing games) designating a specified roll of the dice or die that can be taken at face value, not modified by any rule that adds to or subtracts from its value:
The monster I was attacking rolled a natural 20, landing a critical hit that took out most of my health.
noun
- any person or thing that is or is likely or certain to be very suitable to and successful in an endeavor without much training or difficulty:
You're a natural at this—you picked it up so fast!
- Music.
- a white key on a piano, organ, or the like.
- the sign ♮, placed before a note, canceling the effect of a previous sharp or flat.
- a note affected by a ♮, or a tone thus represented.
- a natural substance or a product made with such a substance:
This boot conditioner is an ointment containing mink oil and other naturals.
- Cards. blackjack ( def 1c ).
- Older Use. Afro ( def 1 ).
- (in craps) a winning combination of seven or eleven made on the first cast.
- Archaic. a person with an intellectual disability.
natural
/ -tʃərəl; ˈnætʃrəl /
adjective
- of, existing in, or produced by nature
natural cliffs
natural science
- in accordance with human nature
it is only natural to want to be liked
- as is normal or to be expected; ordinary or logical
the natural course of events
- not acquired; innate
a natural gift for sport
- being so through innate qualities
a natural leader
- not supernatural or strange
natural phenomena
- not constrained or affected; genuine or spontaneous
- not artificially dyed or coloured
a natural blonde
- following or resembling nature or life; lifelike
she looked more natural without her make-up
- not affected by man or civilization; uncultivated; wild
in the natural state this animal is not ferocious
- being or made from organic material; not synthetic
a natural fibre like cotton
- illegitimate; born out of wedlock
- not adopted but rather related by blood
her natural parents
- music
- not sharp or flat
- postpositive denoting a note that is neither sharp nor flat
B natural
- music of or relating to a trumpet, horn, etc, without valves or keys, on which only notes of the harmonic series of the keynote can be obtained
- determined by inborn conviction
natural rights
natural justice
- cards
- (of a card) not a joker or wild card
- (of a canasta or sequence) containing no wild cards
- (of a bid in bridge) describing genuine values; not conventional
- based on the principles and findings of human reason and what is to be learned of God from nature rather than on revelation
natural religion
noun
- informal.a person or thing regarded as certain to qualify for success, selection, etc
the horse was a natural for first place
- music
- Also called (US)cancel an accidental cancelling a previous sharp or flat Usual symbol
- pontoon the combination of an ace with a ten or court card when dealt to a player as his or her first two cards
- obsolete.an imbecile; idiot
Derived Forms
- ˈnaturalness, noun
Other Words From
- nat·u·ral·ly adverb
- nat·u·ral·ness noun
- an·ti·nat·u·ral adjective
- an·ti·nat·u·ral·ness noun
- hy·per·nat·u·ral adjective
- hy·per·nat·u·ral·ness noun
- non·nat·u·ral adjective
- non·nat·u·ral·ness noun
- pre·nat·u·ral adjective
- qua·si-nat·u·ral adjective
- sub·nat·u·ral adjective
- sub·nat·u·ral·ness noun
- trans·nat·ur·al adjective
Word History and Origins
Idioms and Phrases
see under big as life .Example Sentences
"While eDNA sampling has been applied to detect non-native wildlife, the benefit of our methodology is that we can now sample for numerous target species within a single sample. This can aid natural resource managers by reducing costs required to survey for non-native species in multi-invaded ecosystems," Miller said.
"Such novel castes often originate as mosaic phenotypes that recombine gyne- and worker traits, which may become permanent when natural selection rewards a subsequent shift in JH-sensitivity window," says Guojie Zhang, corresponding author of the study and Professor at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and Adjunct Professor at the University of Copenhagen.
Having made his comeback from concussion against Portugal last week, Darcy Graham plays on the wing with Blair Kinghorn returning to his more natural full-back berth.
“The Thing is a really special character, and he’s Jewish so it was very natural to tell a story through his point of view,” says Becca Topol, “Spidey’s’’ story editor and co-producer.
The Valley Generating Station is located on 150 acres in the San Fernando Valley between the communities of Sun Valley and Pacoima and generates electricity for Greater Los Angeles by burning natural gas.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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