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NATURAL

Alternative forms

Etymology

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.

Adjective

natural (comparative more natural, superlative most natural)

  1. Existing in nature.
    1. Existing in the nature of a person or thing; innate, not acquired or learned. [from 14th c.] quotations ▼
    2. Normally associated with a particular person or thing; inherently related to the nature of a thing or creature. [from 14th c.]

The species will be under threat if its natural habitat is destroyed.

    1. As expected; reasonable, normal; naturally arising from the given circumstances. [from 14th c.] quotations ▼

It's natural for business to be slow on Tuesdays.

His prison sentence was the natural consequence of a life of crime.

    1. Formed by nature; not manufactured or created by artificial processes. [from 15th c.] quotations ▼
    2. Pertaining to death brought about by disease or old age, rather than by violence, accident etc. [from 16th c.] quotations ▼

She died of natural causes.

    1. Having an innate ability to fill a given role or profession, or display a specified character. [from 16th c.] quotations ▼
    2. (mathematics) Designating a standard trigonometric function of an angle, as opposed to the logarithmic function. [from 17th c.]
    3. (music) Neither sharp nor flat. Denoted ♮. [from 18th c.]

There's a wrong note here: it should be C natural instead of C sharp.

    1. Containing no artificial or man-made additives; especially (of food) containing no colourings, flavourings or preservatives. [from 19th c.]

Natural food is healthier than processed food.

    1. Pertaining to a decoration that preserves or enhances the appearance of the original material; not stained or artificially coloured. [from 19th c.]
    2. Pertaining to a fabric still in its undyed state, or to the colour of undyed fabric. [from 19th c.]
    3. (dice games) Pertaining to a dice roll before bonuses or penalties have been applied to the result.
    4. (bodybuilding) Not having used anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. antonym ▲Antonym: enhanced
    5. (bridge) Bidding in an intuitive way that reflects one's actual hand. antonym ▲Antonym: artificial
    6. (algebra) Closed under submodules, direct sums, and injective hulls.
  1. Pertaining to birth or descent; native.
    1. Having a given status (especially of authority) by virtue of birth. [14th–19th c.] quotations ▼
    2. Related genetically but not legally to one's father; born out of wedlock, illegitimate. [from 15th c.] quotations ▼
    3. Related by birth; genetically related. [from 16th c.] quotations ▼
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