# natural

Pronunciation: say "NACH-ruhl" /ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹəl/

## Adjective

1. Formed by nature rather than manufactured or created through artificial processes.
   - Simple: Made by nature, not made by people or machines.
   - _The harbor is a natural formation, carved by glaciers thousands of years ago._
   - _Cotton and silk are natural fibers, unlike polyester._
2. To be expected; reasonable or normal, arising in an unforced way from the circumstances.
   - Simple: What anyone would expect in a situation. Normal and reasonable.
   - _After the merger, it was natural for employees to worry about their jobs._
   - _Her promotion felt like the natural next step after a decade of strong work._
3. Containing no artificial or man-made additives; of food, free of artificial colorings, flavorings, or preservatives.
   - Simple: Having nothing fake or man-made added. For food, no man-made colors or flavors added.
   - _The label claims the soda is natural, though it still contains plenty of sugar._
   - _Many shoppers pay more for natural snacks made without preservatives._
4. Belonging to someone's or something's inborn nature rather than acquired or learned.
   - Simple: Part of how a person or thing is from birth, not learned later.
   - _His natural shyness faded once he got to know his classmates._
   - _Salmon possess a natural instinct to return to the streams where they hatched._
5. Normally associated with a particular person or thing as an inherent part of its nature.
   - Simple: Going together with something as a normal part of what it is.
   - _Coral reefs provide the natural habitat for thousands of fish species._
   - _Improvisation is the natural idiom of jazz._
6. Of death, brought about by disease or old age rather than by violence or accident.
   - Simple: Used about death that comes from illness or old age, not from violence or accidents.
   - _The coroner ruled it a natural death, closing the investigation._
   - _Most of the lighthouse keepers in the records died natural deaths well into their eighties._
7. Having an innate ability to fill a particular role or profession, or to display a particular character.
   - Simple: Born with the skill to do a job or play a role well.
   - _Even as a child she was a natural performer, at ease in front of any crowd._
   - _He proved a natural diplomat, easing tensions that had stalled the talks for months._
8. Of a material, finish, or fabric: keeping its original color and look, not dyed, stained, or artificially colored.
   - Simple: Left in its own color, without dye or stain, so the material looks the way it really is.
   - _The cabinetmaker recommended a natural finish to highlight the cherry's color._
   - _Buyers preferred floors left natural over the dark stained samples._
12. Of a note, neither sharp nor flat; marked where needed with the symbol ♮.
   - Simple: In music, describing a note that is not sharp and not flat.
   - _The melody resolves on E natural rather than E flat._
   - _In C major, every scale tone is natural._
15. Related by birth rather than by adoption or marriage; genetically related.
   - Simple: Related to someone by birth, not by adoption or marriage.
   - _The adoption records finally revealed the name of his natural father._
   - _Courts weighed the rights of the natural parents against those of the foster family._
16. Born to parents who were not married to each other; illegitimate.
   - Simple: Born to parents who were not married to each other.
   - _Several of the duke's natural children received quiet annuities._
   - _Gossip in the parish held that the boy was the squire's natural son._
17. Training or competing without ever having taken anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.
   - Simple: Not using steroids or other drugs to get stronger or build muscle.
   - _After ten years of natural training, he finally competed at the national level._
   - _Critics doubted the champion was natural, given how quickly he had gained mass._
20. Holding a status, most often a position of authority, that comes from one's birth.
   - Simple: Having a position or power because of the family you were born into.
   - _Royalists insisted the exiled prince remained the natural sovereign of the realm._
   - _Medieval tenants owed service to their natural lord by hereditary right._
23. Of a dice roll: showing the result before any bonuses or penalties have been applied.
   - Simple: In dice games, the number you really roll, before anything is added or taken away.
   - _The house rule treats any natural 1 as an automatic failure._
   - _You need a natural 16 or higher, since modifiers don't count for this check._
25. Bidding in an intuitive way that reflects the actual contents of one's hand.
   - Simple: In the card game bridge, making bids that honestly show the cards in your hand.
   - _Her two-spade response was natural, showing genuine length in spades._
   - _They play a natural system, so each bid names a suit they really hold._
9. Relaxed and unaffected in manner, without pretense or putting on a show.
   - Simple: Acting in a relaxed way, like your real self, without pretending.
   - _When the security guard walks past, act natural and keep reading your newspaper._
   - _She was completely natural in front of the camera, as if the crew weren't there._

## Noun

10. A person with an innate talent for a particular activity or pursuit.
   - Simple: A person who is very good at something without needing to learn it.
   - _The coach knew within five minutes that the kid was a natural._
   - _She had never acted before, but the director called her a natural on the first day._
11. An off-white color with a hint of gray, yellow, or brown, like that of undyed fabric.
   - Simple: A light, almost white color with a little gray, yellow, or brown in it.
   - _The linen curtains come in natural, a warm off-white that suits the bright room._
   - _For the wedding, she chose invitations printed on cardstock in natural rather than stark white._
13. In music, a note that is neither sharp nor flat, or the sign ♮ placed before a note to show this.
   - Simple: In music, a note that is not sharp or flat, or the sign ♮ that marks it.
   - _After the sharp earlier in the bar, the final F reverts to a natural._
   - _She missed the natural in the second measure and played a B flat by mistake._
14. A hairstyle in which Afro-textured hair is worn unstraightened and otherwise untreated. *(colloquial, US)*
   - Simple: A hairstyle where Afro-textured hair is left curly and not straightened or treated.
   - _After years of relaxers, she transitioned to a natural and never looked back._
   - _His neatly shaped natural became part of his signature look on stage._
18. Someone who has never relied on anabolic steroids or any comparable substance to enhance performance.
   - Simple: An athlete who does not use steroids or other muscle-building drugs.
   - _She competes as a natural in drug-tested federations._
   - _Naturals often hit a plateau years before enhanced athletes do._
19. A roll of two dice totaling 7 or 11 on the comeout roll.
   - Simple: In the dice game craps, a first roll of the two dice that adds up to 7 or 11.
   - _The shooter opened with a natural, and the pass-line bets paid immediately._
   - _After three naturals in a row, the crowd around the craps table grew._
22. A breast that has not been surgically altered or augmented. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A breast that has not been changed by surgery.
   - _When a fan asked about implants, the singer laughed and said hers were naturals._
   - _Her surgeon matched the implant closely to the remaining natural._
24. One's life, used chiefly in the fixed expression 'in all my natural.' *(colloquial, UK)*
   - Simple: Your life. British speakers use it in phrases like 'in all my natural.'
   - _Never in all my natural have I seen the river that high._
   - _She'd not heard such cheek in all her natural, she told the neighbors._

## Adverb

21. Naturally; in an unforced, everyday manner. *(dialectal)*
   - Simple: In a normal, easy way, without trying hard or pretending.
   - _He sings natural, never forcing the high notes._
   - _She talks natural with everyone, from the kids to the mayor._

## Noun

26. A native inhabitant of a particular place or country. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person born in a particular place or country.
27. A person of very limited intellect; a fool or simpleton. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person with a very simple mind. A fool.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Of a trigonometric function of an angle, giving its ordinary value rather than the logarithm of that value.
- (adjective) Of a class of modules, closed under submodules, direct sums and injective hulls.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English natural, borrowed via Old French naturel from Latin nātūrālis, from nātus, the past participle of nāscor ("to be born"). By surface analysis it is nature + -al, and it displaced the native Old English ġecynde.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/natural (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).