natural

A2 Topic:Describing Qualities

Also spelled natcherl, naterally, and nat’ral

US /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #1474

Meanings

1

adj
Existing in nature and not made or caused by people.

The park is full of natural beauty.
2

adj
(of food or other products) not processed or treated with chemicals.

I prefer plain natural yogurt with no added sugar.
3

adj
Normal and expected; not surprising.

It is natural to feel nervous before an exam.
4

adj
Born with a particular talent or ability.

She is a natural leader who people happily follow.
5

noun
Someone who is very good at something without having to try.

On the stage he was a natural.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · existing in nature and not... aboriginal indigenous

2 adj · (of food or other products)... raw

4 adj · born with a particular... born innate

Word family

Forms naturals

Derived forms all-naturalconaturalconnatural contranaturalcounternaturaldinaturalextra-naturalhypernaturalinfranaturalmetanaturalnapturalnatlang

Related forms antenatal innate nascent natal native nativism nativitynativizationnaturalism naturism prenatal

Appears in

Phrases (11)

See all

natural beauty
beauty found in nature or achieved without artificial enhancement

Adjective + noun
natural stone
unprocessed stone as it occurs in nature, used in construction or decoration

Adjective + noun
natural death
death from illness or old age rather than from violence or an accident

Adjective + noun
natural feel
a quality that appears unforced or resembles an organic texture

Adjective + noun
natural grace
elegance of movement or manner that appears innate rather than learned

Adjective + noun
natural state
the original, unaltered condition of something

Adjective + noun

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.

*ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European natural Middle English nātūrālis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# natural

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/
**Frequency rank:** 1474

## Meanings
1. Existing in nature and not made or caused by people.
2. (of food or other products) not processed or treated with chemicals.
3. Normal and expected; not surprising.
4. Born with a particular talent or ability.
5. Someone who is very good at something without having to try.

## Examples
- The park is full of natural beauty.
- I prefer plain natural yogurt with no added sugar.
- It is natural to feel nervous before an exam.
- She is a natural leader who people happily follow.
- On the stage he was a natural.

## Derived Forms
- all-natural
- conatural
- connatural
- contranatural
- counternatural
- dinatural
- extra-natural
- hypernatural
- infranatural
- metanatural
- naptural
- natlang

## Related Forms
- antenatal
- innate
- nascent
- natal
- native
- nativism
- nativity
- nativization
- naturalism
- naturism
- prenatal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *ǵenh₁-
- Root: natural
- Root: nātūrālis
- Affix: -al - relating to

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Natural is 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. In present-day English its meanings include existing in nature and not made or caused by people, not processed or treated with chemicals, and normal and expected; not surprising. The historical chain runs through *ǵenh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), natural (Middle English), natural (Old French), and nātūrālis (Latin). Related and derived forms include antenatal, innate, nascent, and all-natural.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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