NATURAL


Meaning of NATURAL in English

I. nat ‧ u ‧ ral 1 S2 W1 /ˈnætʃ ə rəl/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ nature , ↑ naturalist , ↑ naturalism , ↑ naturalization , ↑ naturalness , the supernatural, ↑ natural , ↑ naturist , ↑ naturism ; adverb : ↑ naturally ≠ ↑ unnaturally , ↑ naturalistically , ↑ supernaturally ; adjective : ↑ natural ≠ ↑ unnatural , ↑ supernatural , ↑ naturalistic ; verb : ↑ naturalize ]

[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin naturalis , from natura ; ⇨ ↑ nature ]

1 . NATURE existing in nature and not caused, made, or controlled by people ⇨ artificial , man-made :

the study of the natural world (=trees, rivers, animals, plants etc)

an area of spectacular natural beauty

natural disasters (=things such as floods or ↑ earthquake s )

death from natural causes

the need for natural light in offices

2 . NORMAL normal and as you would expect OPP unnatural , abnormal :

At the time, accepting his offer had seemed the most natural thing in the world.

it is natural (for somebody) to do something

It’s not natural for a child of his age to be so quiet.

It’s only natural that he should be interested in what happens.

It was a perfectly natural (=not surprising) mistake to make.

3 . BEHAVIOUR a natural tendency or type of behaviour is part of your character when you are born, rather than one that you learn later:

Babies have a natural fear of falling.

4 . ABILITY having a particular quality or skill without needing to be taught and without needing to try hard:

a natural musician

Cheryl has a natural elegance about her.

his natural ability with figures

5 . RELAXED behaving in a way that is normal and shows you are relaxed and not trying to pretend:

Be cool, be natural.

6 . PARENT/CHILD [only before noun]

a) someone’s natural parent or child is their real parent or child, who is ↑ biological ly related to them:

An adopted young person has the right to trace his natural parents.

b) old-fashioned if someone is the natural child of someone, their parents were not married to each other:

He was rumoured to be the natural son of a duke.

7 . REAL not connected with gods, magic, or ↑ spirit s OPP supernatural :

I’m sure there’s a perfectly natural explanation.

8 . natural justice/law justice that is based on human reason alone

9 . FOOD with nothing added to change the taste:

natural yoghurt

10 . MUSIC technical a musical note that is natural has been raised from a ↑ flat by one ↑ semitone or lowered from a ↑ sharp by one semitone ⇨ sharp , flat

—naturalness noun [uncountable] :

Manufacturers now choose to emphasize the naturalness of the ingredients used in their products.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ natural existing in nature and not caused, made, or controlled by people:

a natural lake

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natural light

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the earth's natural resources

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We only use natural ingredients in our products.

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his natural hair colour

▪ wild used about flowers, plants, and animals that are not controlled by people. Also used about areas of land where there are no humans:

We found some wild strawberries.

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wild horses

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wild open spaces

▪ pure used about food, drink, or materials that have not had anything added to them:

pure orange juice

|

pure new wool

▪ organic used about fruit, vegetables, meat etc produced without using chemicals:

organic carrots

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organic milk

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organic beauty products

▪ unspoiled ( also unspoilt British English ) a place that is unspoiled is still beautiful because no one has built roads or buildings on it:

It was a pleasant unspoilt village.

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The countryside is remarkably unspoiled.

▪ untouched [not before noun] a place that is untouched has not been affected by human activity:

There are few forested areas of the world that remain untouched by humans.

▪ virgin [only before noun] virgin forest or land is still in its natural state and has not been spoiled or changed in any way by humans:

Large areas of virgin rainforest will be protected from destruction.

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He bought 14,000 acres of virgin land in Ontario.

■ COLLOCATIONS CHECK

▪ wild flowers/plants/places

▪ organic food/vegetables/products

▪ unspoiled countryside/island/beauty

▪ virgin forest/land

II. natural 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ nature , ↑ naturalist , ↑ naturalism , ↑ naturalization , ↑ naturalness , the supernatural, ↑ natural , ↑ naturist , ↑ naturism ; adverb : ↑ naturally ≠ ↑ unnaturally , ↑ naturalistically , ↑ supernaturally ; adjective : ↑ natural ≠ ↑ unnatural , ↑ supernatural , ↑ naturalistic ; verb : ↑ naturalize ]

1 . be a natural to be good at doing something without having to try hard or practise:

People think I am a natural, but I’ve had to work at it.

2 . technical

a) a musical note that has been changed from a ↑ flat to be a ↑ semitone higher, or from a ↑ sharp to be a semitone lower

b) the sign in written music that shows this kind of musical note

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.