preternatural

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌpritɚˈnætʃərəl/ UK /ˌpriːtəˈnætʃrəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
beyond what is normal or natural; exceptional

She had a preternatural calm during the crisis.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · beyond what is normal or... supernatural extraordinary abnormal uncanny unearthly exceptional anomalous

Opposites

natural ordinary normal

Word family

Forms preternaturally

Derived forms preternaturallypreternaturalness

Related forms natural nature supernatural

Etymology

From Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam ('beyond nature'), from praeter ('beyond, past') + natura ('nature').

praeter Latin natura Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# preternatural

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˌpritɚˈnætʃərəl
**IPA (UK):** ˌpriːtəˈnætʃrəl

## Meanings
1. beyond what is normal or natural; exceptional

## Examples
- She had a preternatural calm during the crisis.

## Synonyms
- supernatural
- extraordinary
- abnormal
- uncanny
- unearthly
- exceptional
- anomalous

## Antonyms
- natural
- ordinary
- normal

## Derived Forms
- preternaturally
- preternaturalness

## Related Forms
- natural
- nature
- supernatural

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: praeter
- Root: natura

## Etymology
From Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam ('beyond nature'), from praeter ('beyond, past') + natura ('nature').

## AI Etymology
Preternatural comes from Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam ('beyond nature'), from praeter ('beyond, past') + natura ('nature'). The historical chain includes Latin praeter and Latin natura. The quoted older senses, "beyond nature", "beyond, past", and "nature", supply the semantic anchors for preternatural. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word preternatural carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "beyond what is normal or natural; exceptional". English derivatives include preternaturally and preternaturalness; related English forms include natural, nature, and supernatural. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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preternatural

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