unnatural

[ uhn-nach-er-uhl, -nach-ruhl ]

adjective

1. contrary to the laws or course of nature.
2. at variance with the character or nature of a person, animal, or plant.
3. at variance with what is normal or to be expected:

   the unnatural atmosphere of the place.

   Synonyms: aberrant, irregular

4. lacking human qualities or sympathies; monstrous; inhuman:

   an obsessive and unnatural hatred.

   Synonyms: brutal, heartless

5. not genuine or spontaneous; artificial or contrived:

   a stiff, unnatural manner.

6. Obsolete. lacking a valid or natural claim; illegitimate.

unnatural

/ -ˈnætʃrəl; ʌnˈnætʃərəl /

adjective

1. contrary to nature; abnormal
2. not in accordance with accepted standards of behaviour or right and wrong

   unnatural love

3. uncanny; supernatural

   unnatural phenomena

4. affected or forced

   an unnatural manner

5. inhuman or monstrous; wicked

   an unnatural crime

6. obsolete.
   illegitimate

Derived Forms

• unˈnaturally, adverb
• unˈnaturalness, noun

Other Words From

• un·natu·ral·ly adverb
• un·natu·ral·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unnatural¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; un- ¹, natural

Example Sentences

While many cat owners care about wildlife, they also resist such restrictions as unnatural for their cat.

From Science News

Anger always seems unnatural to me, and I usually can’t sustain it for long.

From Voice of San Diego

The smaller your backlink profile, the more impactful any low-quality or unnatural links will be.

From Search Engine Watch

The answer is, you probably should just use it if you cannot get out of a manual action related to unnatural links pointing to your web site.

From Search Engine Land

After all, we engage in all sorts of activities that are unnatural but good.

From Nautilus

Death by pills or lethal injection might be unnatural, but she believes that declining nourishment and medications is not.

From The Daily Beast

The group is working on inserting the unnatural base pairs in more than one spot in the cell.

From The Daily Beast

Not only is post-Yanukovych Ukraine dominated by a fascist clique, it is controlled by unnatural women.

From The Daily Beast

Now in his 80s, Blankenship claims to have charted out tunnels, corridors, and large, unnatural underground caverns.

From The Daily Beast

Above water, unnatural animal and human interactions continue to rise.

From The Daily Beast

"I congratulate you on your engagement," he said at last, looking up with a face that seemed to Bernard hard and unnatural.

From Project Gutenberg

But at the root of the unnatural miracles is the natural miracle—the heart of man.

From Project Gutenberg

Her bare shoulders looked waxen and unnatural in the weird light which shone down upon them.

From Project Gutenberg

Its power was surely unnatural, and, combined with his now expressionless face, made upon her an effect that was painful.

From Project Gutenberg

Her face was drawn and pinched, her sweet blue eyes haggard and unnatural.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abnormal
• bizarre
• incredible
• odd
• outlandish
• outrageous
• perverse
• preposterous
• stilted
• strange
• unusual