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- Dictionarypreternatural/ˌpriːtəˈnatʃ(ə)rəl/
adjective
- 1. beyond what is normal or natural: "autumn had arrived with preternatural speed"
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1. : existing outside of nature. 2. : exceeding what is natural or regular : extraordinary. wits trained to preternatural acuteness by the debates G. L. Dickinson. 3. : inexplicable by ordinary means. especially : psychic. preternatural phenomena. preternaturally. ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rə-lē. -ˈnach-rə- -ˈna-chər- pre- adverb. preternaturalness.
adjective. formal uk / ˌpriː.təˈnætʃ. ə r. ə l / us / ˌpriː.t̬ɚˈnætʃ.ɚ. ə l / Add to word list. more than is usual or natural: Anger gave me preternatural strength, and I managed to force the door open. Synonym. otherworldly. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Strange, suspicious and unnatural. aberrantly. abnormally. add. freakishly.
The preternatural (or praeternatural) is that which appears outside, beside or beyond (Latin: præter) the natural. It is "suspended between the mundane and the miraculous". [1]
Preternatural definition: out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal. See examples of PRETERNATURAL used in a sentence.
adjective. formal us / ˌpriː.t̬ɚˈnætʃ.ɚ. ə l / uk / ˌpriː.təˈnætʃ. ə r. ə l / Add to word list. more than is usual or natural: Anger gave me preternatural strength, and I managed to force the door open. Synonym. otherworldly. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Strange, suspicious and unnatural. aberrantly. abnormally. add. freakishly.
Preternatural describes something that seems oddly abnormal and out of sync with everything else. If you hear a preternatural dog's barking, maybe it sounds like a police siren instead of a howl.
Preternatural abilities, qualities, or events are very unusual in a way that might make you think that unknown forces are involved.
pre·ter·nat·u·ral. (prē′tər-năch′ər-əl, -năch′rəl) adj. 1. Surpassing what is normal or usual; extraordinary: "Below his preternatural affability there is some acid and steel" (George F. Will). 2. Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.
Definition of preternatural adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
OED's earliest evidence for preternatural is from 1580, in the writing of Gabriel Harvey, scholar and writer. preternatural is formed within English, by derivation; modelled on a Latin lexical item. Etymons: preter- prefix , natural adj.
