- nat|u|ral
- nat|u|ral «NACH uhr uhl, NACH ruhl», adjective, noun.–adj.1. produced by nature; based on some state of things in nature: »
Scenery has natural beauty.
2. a) not man-made or artificial: »the natural color of hair. Coal and oil are natural products. The main reason for wanting to send a rocket to the Moon is to find out more about the Earth's natural satellite (New Scientist).
b) (of plants) not introduced artificially.3. belonging to the nature one is born with; not acquired or assumed; instinctive; inborn: »natural intelligence, natural ability. It is natural for ducks to swim.
SYNONYM(S): innate, inherent. See syn. under native. (Cf. ↑native)4. coming or occurring in the ordinary course of events; normal: »natural feelings and actions, to die a natural death, a natural result.
SYNONYM(S): regular, usual.5. in accordance with the facts of some special case: »a natural conclusion, a natural response.
6. instinctively felt to be right and fair, though not prescribed by any formal law or agreement: »natural law, natural rights.
7. like nature; true to nature: »The picture looked natural.
8. free from affectation or restraint; easy: »a natural manner.
SYNONYM(S): simple, ingenuous, artless, unaffected.9. of or about nature: »the natural sciences.
10. concerned with natural science.11. based on what is learned from nature by the light of human reason, rather than on supernatural revelation: »natural religion.
12. having a real or physical existence, as opposed to what is spiritual, intellectual, fictitious, or the like: »Which is the natural man, And which the spirit? (Shakespeare).
14. Music. a) neither sharp nor flat; without sharps and flats. b) not changed in pitch by a sharp or a flat: »C natural.
c) having the pitch affected by the natural sign. d) produced without the aid of valves or keys, as in brass instruments.15. Mathematics. having 1 as the base of the system (applied to a function or number belonging or referred to such a system). Natural numbers are those that are positive integers, such as 1, 2, 3, and so on. Natural sines, cosines, tangents, and other functions are those taken in arcs whose radii are 1. They are not expressed as logarithms, but as the actual value of a ratio (of two sides of a right triangle) in which the hypotenuse of the triangle is taken as unity.–n.1. that which is natural: »This climbing business may be a natural for monkeys, but it doesn't fit a lion's life at all (Punch).
2. Music. a) a natural note or tone. b) the sign used to cancel the effect of a preceding sharp or flat, and give a note its natural value; natural sign. c) a white key on a piano.3. a half-witted person: »She…is not quite a natural, that is, not an absolute idiot (Fanny Burney).
4. Informal. a person who is especially suited for something because of income talent or ability; an expert by nature: »He is a natural on the saxophone.
5. Informal. a sure success.╂[< Old French naturel, learned borrowing from Latin nātūrālis < nātūra; see etym. under nature (Cf. ↑nature)]–nat´u|ral|ness, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
