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
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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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.
Fires are a natural phenomenon, of course, but what’s unnatural is their intensity and the level of heat.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
SFA head of referees Willie Collum backed the call, citing "clear evidence" with Sam Nicholson's hand and arm "in an unnatural position" and the resulting contact "a punishable handball".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
That coexistence is made easier by the disposition of the animals, which evolved to be mostly oblivious to unnatural human dangers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
The majority acknowledges that its reading creates some overlap in the statute but concludes that a modest amount of redundancy is preferable to giving words an unnatural meaning.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
Even though the purpose of a camping trip was to get away from the city, it seemed unnatural to hear no boat motors, no radios, and no human voices except for his family.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
