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- DictionaryPre·ter·nat·u·ral/ˌpredərˈnaCH(ə)rəl/
adjective
- 1. beyond what is normal or natural: "autumn had arrived with preternatural speed"
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.
Preternatural definition: out of the ordinary course of nature; exceptional or abnormal. See examples of PRETERNATURAL used in a sentence.
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".
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.
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.
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.
(priːtəʳnætʃrəl ) adjective [ADJECTIVE noun] Preternatural abilities, qualities, or events are very unusual in a way that might make you think that unknown forces are involved. [formal] Parents had an almost preternatural ability to understand what was going on in their children's minds.
