What does "natural" mean?
A native inhabitant of a place, country, etc.
Natural
/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/ adj, adv, noun, slang
adj, adv, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A native inhabitant of a place, country, etc.
- Grammar: natural is listed as adj, adv, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: accepted, accidental, acoustic, actual.
- Useful contrasts: aberrant, abnormal, artificial.
- Usage evidence: We had better utilize our natural resources.
How to use "natural"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "natural" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "natural" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "natural" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "natural" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "natural" is acting as adj, adv, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accepted" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "natural", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A native inhabitant of a place, country, etc. archaic, countable, uncountable
"I coniecture and assure my selfe that yee cannot be ignorant by what meanes this peace hath bin thus happily both for our proceedings and the welfare of the Naturals concluded […]"
- 2 (craps) a first roll of 7 or 11 that immediately wins the stake wordnet
- 3 A note that is not or is no longer to be modified by an accidental. countable, uncountable
- 4 a notation cancelling a previous sharp or flat wordnet
- 5 The symbol ♮ used to indicate such a natural note. countable, uncountable
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 someone regarded as certain to succeed wordnet
- 7 One with an innate talent at or for something. countable, uncountable
"He's a natural on the saxophone."
- 8 An almost white colour, with tints of grey, yellow or brown; originally that of natural fabric. uncountable
- 9 One with a simple mind; a fool or idiot. archaic, countable, uncountable
"Why is not this better now, then groning for Loue, now art thou ſociable, now art thou Romeo : now art thou what thou art, by Art as well as by Nature, for this driueling Loue is like a great Naturall, that runs lolling vp and downe to hid his bable in a hole."
- 10 One's life. UK, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"‘Sergeant-Major Robinson came in in the middle of it, and you've never seen a man look more surprised in your natural.’"
- 11 A hairstyle for people with Afro-textured hair in which the hair is not straightened or otherwise treated. US, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Chinosole, who stopped straightening her hair and cut it into a natural while at a predominantly white college, was quite uneasy with the style"
- 12 A breast which has not been modified by plastic surgery. countable, in-plural, slang, uncountable
"big naturals"
- 13 Someone who has not used anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing substances. countable, uncountable
"For so long I stayed natural because it was a sense of pride to me that as a natural I was still competing and beating guys who were juicing up."
- 14 A roll of two dice with a score of 7 or 11 on the comeout roll. countable, uncountable
Adjective
- 1 Existing in nature.; Existing in the nature of a person or thing; innate, not acquired or learned.
"The natural Love of Life gave me some inward Motions of Joy."
- 2 Existing in nature.; Normally associated with a particular person or thing; inherently related to the nature of a thing or creature.
"The species will be under threat if its natural habitat is destroyed."
- 3 Existing in nature.; As expected; reasonable, normal; naturally arising from the given circumstances.
"It's natural for business to be slow on Tuesdays."
- 4 Existing in nature.; Formed by nature; not manufactured or created by artificial processes.
"The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation."
- 5 Existing in nature.; Pertaining to death brought about by disease or old age, rather than by violence, accident etc.
"She died of natural causes."
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- 6 Existing in nature.; Having an innate ability to fill a given role or profession, or display a specified character.
"Mr. Campion appeared suitably impressed and she warmed to him. He was very easy to talk to with those long clown lines in his pale face, a natural goon, born rather too early she suspected."
- 7 Existing in nature.; Designating a standard trigonometric function of an angle, as opposed to the logarithmic function.
- 8 Existing in nature.; Closed under submodules, direct sums, and injective hulls.
- 9 Existing in nature.; Neither sharp nor flat. Denoted ♮.
"There's a wrong note here: it should be C natural instead of C sharp."
- 10 Existing in nature.; Containing no artificial or man-made additives; especially (of food) containing no colourings, flavourings or preservatives.
"Natural food is healthier than processed food."
- 11 Existing in nature.; Pertaining to a decoration that preserves or enhances the appearance of the original material; not stained or artificially coloured.
- 12 Existing in nature.; Pertaining to a fabric still in its undyed state, or to the colour of undyed fabric.
- 13 Existing in nature.; Pertaining to a dice roll before bonuses or penalties have been applied to the result.
- 14 Existing in nature.; Not having used anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
- 15 Existing in nature.; Uncircumcised; intact.
- 16 Existing in nature.; Bidding in an intuitive way that reflects one's actual hand.
- 17 Pertaining to birth or descent; native.; Having a given status (especially of authority) by virtue of birth.
"Whom should he follow but his naturall king."
- 18 Pertaining to birth or descent; native.; Related genetically but not legally to one's father; born out of wedlock, illegitimate.
"[M]y Mother was the natural Daughter of a Scotch Peer by an italian Opera-girl […]."
- 19 Pertaining to birth or descent; native.; Related by birth; genetically related.
"The first-born in every house, “from the first-born of the Pharaoh on the throne, to the first-born of the captive in the dungeon,” unaccountably found himself enlisted in the ranks of this new power, and estranged from his natural friends."
Adjective
- 1 free from artificiality wordnet
- 2 being talented through inherited qualities wordnet
- 3 (of a parent or child) related by blood; genetically related wordnet
- 4 in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature wordnet
- 5 existing in or produced by nature; not artificial or imitation wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 existing in or in conformity with nature or the observable world; neither supernatural nor magical wordnet
- 7 (of a musical note) being neither raised nor lowered by one chromatic semitone wordnet
- 8 functioning or occurring in a normal way; lacking abnormalities or deficiencies wordnet
- 9 (used especially of commodities) being unprocessed or manufactured using only simple or minimal processes wordnet
- 10 unthinking; prompted by (or as if by) instinct wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Naturally; in a natural manner. colloquial, dialectal
"Dr. Watson, on the other hand, spoke natural."
Antonyms
Example
"We had better utilize our natural resources."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "natural"?
Common synonyms include: accepted, accidental, acoustic, actual, affable, afro.
How do you use "natural" in a sentence?
We had better utilize our natural resources.
How do you pronounce "natural"?
Pronounced /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English natural, borrowed from Old French natural, naturel, from Latin nātūrālis, from nātus, the perfect participle of nāscor (“be born”, verb). Displaced native Old English ġecynde. By surface analysis, natur(e) + -al.