artificial

[ ahr-tuh-fish-uhl ]
See synonyms for: artificialartificially on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. made by human skill; produced by humans (opposed to natural): artificial flowers.

  2. imitation; simulated; sham: artificial vanilla flavoring.

  1. lacking naturalness or spontaneity; forced; contrived; feigned: an artificial smile.

  2. full of affectation; affected; stilted: artificial manners; artificial speech.

  3. made without regard to the particular needs of a situation, person, etc.; imposed arbitrarily; unnatural: artificial rules for dormitory residents.

  4. Biology. based on arbitrary, superficial characteristics rather than natural, organic relationships: an artificial system of classification.

  5. Jewelry. manufactured to resemble a natural gem, in chemical composition or appearance.: Compare assembled, imitation (def. 11), synthetic (def. 6).

Origin of artificial

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin artificiālis “contrived by art”; equivalent to artifice + -al1

Other words for artificial

Opposites for artificial

Other words from artificial

  • ar·ti·fi·cial·ly, adverb
  • ar·ti·fi·cial·ness, noun
  • o·ver·ar·ti·fi·cial, adjective
  • o·ver·ar·ti·fi·cial·ly, adverb
  • su·per·ar·ti·fi·cial, adjective
  • su·per·ar·ti·fi·cial·ly, adverb
  • un·ar·ti·fi·cial, adjective
  • un·ar·ti·fi·cial·ly, adverb

Words Nearby artificial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use artificial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for artificial

artificial

/ (ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃəl) /


adjective
  1. produced by man; not occurring naturally: artificial materials of great strength

  2. made in imitation of a natural product, esp as a substitute; not genuine: artificial cream

  1. pretended; assumed; insincere: an artificial manner

  2. lacking in spontaneity; affected: an artificial laugh

  3. biology relating to superficial characteristics not based on the interrelationships of organisms: an artificial classification

Origin of artificial

1
C14: from Latin artificiālis belonging to art, from artificium skill, artifice

Derived forms of artificial

  • artificiality (ˌɑːtɪˌfɪʃɪˈælɪtɪ), noun
  • artificially, adverb

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