Link Centre Dictionary

preternatural

pre·ter·na·tural

UK/ˌpɹiː.təˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/ US/ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/ uncommon dated

adjective

1.

surpassing the ordinary or normal

  • “Beyond his preternatural affability there is some acid andsome steel” George Will
  • “his uncanny sense of direction”
2.

existing outside of or not in accordance with nature

  • “find transcendental motives for sublunary action” Aldous Huxley

Origin

From preter- + natural, after Latin prēternātūrālis/praeternātūrālis, from praeter nātūram, from praeter (“beyond”) + nātūra (“nature”); compare supernatural.

Related words

Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.