artificiality

American  

[ahr-tuh-fish-ee-al-i-tee] / ˌɑr təˌfɪʃ iˈæl ɪ ti /

noun

artificialities plural

1. artificial quality.

2. an artificial thing or trait.

   artificialities of speech.

---

Usage

What does artificiality mean? Artificiality is the quality of being artificial—made or manufactured as opposed to occurring naturally. Artificial is often used as the opposite of natural. A close synonym of artificial is synthetic. This sense of the word is often used in the context of food to describe things like ingredients, flavors, additives, and preservatives that are chemically processed. Food packaging often specifies whether a product has natural or artificial flavors (or both). An artificial sweetener is a kind of chemical used as a substitute for sugar, such as in diet sodas. Artificial is not only used in the context of food. Artificial turf is a grasslike surface used for sports playing fields. Artificial diamonds are those that are manufactured, as opposed to those that have developed through natural processes in the earth. Artificial flowers are often used as decorations. Artificial intelligence generally refers to the ability of a computer to function in a way that mimics or is likened to the human mind. Sometimes, artificial is used in a more negative way to describe something as fake or imitation, as in Something about this tastes artificial. This sense of the word is sometimes used figuratively to describe something as being faked, phony, or contrived—the opposite of real or genuine, as in an artificial smile. Artificiality can be used in all of these contexts. Example: When designing this material, I tried to avoid any sense of artificiality—I wanted it to feel completely real.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overartificiality
  noun
• superartificiality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• artificialities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of artificiality

First recorded in 1755–65; artificial + -ity

Example Sentences

Artificiality might be the point, but it’s not one that gives much pleasure in the theater.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2026

Artificiality in lighting and the aesthetic just doesn’t feel real to me.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2015

Artificiality is out and naturalism is in: wind machines to fling hair about in a suitably natural manner have become as important as print dryers in the studios of the fashion world's fashionable photographers.

From Time Magazine Archive

The four actors of whom I shall attempt to tell, you something—Burbage, Betterton, Garrick, and Kean—were the four greatest champions, in their respective times, on the stage of Nature in contradistinction to Artificiality.

From The Drama by Irving, Henry Brodribb

Artificiality, affectation, pomposity, mouthing, undue vehemence, monotony, intoning, and everything that detracts from the simplicity and genuine fervor of the speech should be avoided.

From Talks on Talking by Kleiser, Grenville