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as in biologic
being such by blood and not by adoption or marriage an adult adoptee who has decided to search for his natural parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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as in crude
being such as found in nature and not altered by processing or refining natural salts are not edible until they are washed and processed

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as in uninhabited
existing without human habitation or cultivation photographs of animals in their natural habitat

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as in illegitimate
born to a father and mother who are not married had fathered an unknown number of natural children

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natural

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noun

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For
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natural resources
geological resources
geologic resources
physical resources
native resources
environmental resources
natural disasters
earthly disasters
environmental disasters
ecological disasters
major disasters
unexpected disasters
a natural beauty
a genuine beauty
an authentic beauty
a real beauty
an unaltered beauty
an original beauty
natural products
organic products
holistic products
herbal products
pure products
homeopathic products
a natural law
an universal law
a physical law
a scientific law
a cosmic law
an innate law

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective natural differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of natural are normal, regular, and typical. While all these words mean "being of the sort or kind that is expected as usual, ordinary, or average," natural applies to what conforms to a thing's essential nature, function, or mode of being.

the natural love of a mother for her child

When is normal a more appropriate choice than natural?

Although the words normal and natural have much in common, normal implies lack of deviation from what has been discovered or established as the most usual or expected.

normal behavior for a two-year-old

When is it sensible to use regular instead of natural?

The words regular and natural can be used in similar contexts, but regular stresses conformity to a rule, standard, or pattern.

the club's regular monthly meeting

Where would typical be a reasonable alternative to natural?

In some situations, the words typical and natural are roughly equivalent. However, typical implies showing all important traits of a type, class, or group and may suggest lack of strong individuality.

a typical small town

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of natural
Adjective
The goal is to make touch a natural and expected part of your routine. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 26 Feb. 2025 The Authentic Beauty Concept Nymph Salt Spray was used to prep the hair, and then the natural waves and kinks of the hair were accentuated with the Working Hairspray. Ranyechi Udemezue, Vogue, 26 Feb. 2025
Noun
The main focus is Divine G (Colman Domingo), a talented performer and playwright who has been falsely imprisoned, but the movie’s power comes from its ensemble made up of actual RTA alumni who are naturals on camera. Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 18 Jan. 2025 In recent weeks when Lamine has been sidelined by an ankle knock, Flick has also tried other players there that aren't naturals such as Fermin Lopez, who occupied the role in the 4-0 win over Barbastro last weekend. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for natural
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natural
Adjective
  • Ava Cooper, a 10-year-old from Akron, was born with several congenital heart defects.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Billy was born in April 2017 and was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect (called Tetralogy of Fallot with VSD) and underwent his first surgery just hours after being born.
    Matt Robison, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Carter was a living example of the struggle to end war and suffering around the world and to promote peace, justice and human rights.
    Storer H. Rowley, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
  • As scientists gather more examples, the pair’s private hand-on-eye code remains a poignant reminder of how similar chimpanzees are to their closest living relatives.
    Brandon Keim, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • But the label’s intrinsic modernity also seems to happily coexist with its deep, winding roots.
    Leah Dolan, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
  • This illustrates the intrinsic, expensive difficulty of intercepting even dummy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
    Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The United States imports crude oil from Canada, specifically the Alberta oil sands.
    Ken Silverstein, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
  • But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta.
    Dee-Ann Durbin and Sally Ho, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Hunting prey The footage was collected during a 2022 field study off Somerset Island, an uninhabited island in the Nunavut territory.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2025
  • The property recently revamped its Veranda Bar and opened a new beach club and restaurant called the Hut, Little Jumby, with all-day dining, live bands and DJs on an uninhabited island between Jumby Bay and mainland Antigua.
    Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • But their filing this week suggests that response wasn't genuine.
    Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Donors, for their part, gain peace of mind knowing their contributions are making a genuine, measurable difference—solidifying an enduring partnership in the quest for positive social change.
    Victoria Philips, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The observatory will create a map of the sky in 102 colors of infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye and ideal for studying stars and galaxies.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Humans may forever seek self-preservation and perfection at any cost, Mickey 17 suggests, but what makes people human isn’t their body.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Trump is now repeating Kremlin talking points — that Ukraine, not Russia, started the war; that Zelenskyy is an illegitimate leader unpopular with Ukrainians.
    Eleanor Beardsley, NPR, 24 Feb. 2025
  • Russia's Putin, meanwhile, has remained in power for decades through deepening crackdowns on free expression and increasingly illegitimate elections, according to international experts.
    Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 24 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Natural.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natural. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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