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Artificial
Definitions
- 1 Man-made; made by humans; of artifice.
"The flowers were artificial, and he thought them rather tacky."
- 2 Insincere; fake, forced, or feigned.
"Her manner was somewhat artificial."
- 3 Not natural or normal: imposed arbitrarily or without regard to the specifics or normal circumstances of a person, a situation, etc.
"“How quickly have I fallen!” thought Tarzan; but in his heart he did not consider it a fall—rather, he pitied the poor creatures of Paris, penned up like prisoners in their silly clothes, and watched by policemen all their poor lives, that they might do nothing that was not entirely artificial and tiresome."
- 4 Based on characteristics useful for identification, without regard for the formal differences used in classification.
"Artificial keys are devised purely to facilitate determination […]"
- 5 Conveying some meaning other than the actual contents of one's hand.
"An artificial bid doesn't necessarily show length in the suit being bid, it has an altogether different meaning."
- 1 artificially formal wordnet
- 2 contrived by art rather than nature wordnet
- 3 not arising from natural growth or characterized by vital processes wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English artificial (“man-made”) via Old French (modern French artificiel), from Latin artificiālis from artificium (“skill”), from artifex, from ars (“skill”), and -fex, from facere (“to make”). Displaced native Old English cræftlīċ.
See also for "artificial"
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Unscramble this word: artificial