unnatural
Americanadjective
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contrary to the laws or course of nature.
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at variance with the character or nature of a person, animal, or plant.
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at variance with what is normal or to be expected.
the unnatural atmosphere of the place.
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lacking human qualities or sympathies; monstrous; inhuman.
an obsessive and unnatural hatred.
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not genuine or spontaneous; artificial or contrived.
a stiff, unnatural manner.
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Obsolete. lacking a valid or natural claim; illegitimate.
adjective
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contrary to nature; abnormal
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not in accordance with accepted standards of behaviour or right and wrong
unnatural love
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uncanny; supernatural
unnatural phenomena
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affected or forced
an unnatural manner
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inhuman or monstrous; wicked
an unnatural crime
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obsolete illegitimate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of unnatural
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at un- 1, natural
Explanation
Something unnatural is strange, fake, or abnormal. If you dye your hair hot pink, it's going to look unnatural — especially to your conservative grandparents. It's unnatural for a wild animal to live inside someone's house; it goes against the way the animal normally lives in its natural environment. You could also describe your bright blue bottle of juice as an unnatural color. And if you try to impress someone by speaking in a French accent, that would also be unnatural. Unnatural adds the "not" prefix un- to natural, which comes from the Latin word naturalis, "by birth," or "according to nature."
Vocabulary lists containing unnatural
Strange
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Strange
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Strange
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Collum backed the Celtic penalty at Fir Park, citing "clear evidence" with Nicholson's hand and arm "in an unnatural position" and the resulting contact "a punishable handball".
From BBC • May 29, 2026
In a nearby tent was Zuhoor Musa Abdul Rahman, a 30-year-old housewife who recounted with unnatural calm the horrors that spurred her to flee El Fasher, a city some 300 miles east of Obeid.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
How to solve the problem of a tech universe that produces wild and awesome wealth, the concentration of which seems weird, unnatural?
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
For instance, maybe humans today sense that the kind of parenting we strive for is unnatural.
From Slate • May 10, 2026
Primus spoke again, saying, "If you ask me, there is something unnatural about this storm."
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
