preternatural
/ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.10 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange.
Example Sentences
- "I have employed cold air, and very often spongings with cold water, in order to moderate the preternatural heat of the skin, and to check the increased velocity of the circulation."
- "Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almost preternatural skill and cunning of the Indian […]"
- ""Villette! Villette! wrote George Eliot. "It is a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power.""
- "D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel: "Something Charlotte said made me think. Maybe celestial beings and humans, Luci maybe they aren't that different." Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar: "What, are we talking in bed? 'Cause we know all know my skills are preternatural. But I suppose you on the other hand...""
- "Macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event."
- "Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride on a short-paced donkey, [...]"
Etymology
From preter- + natural, after Latin prēternātūrālis/praeternātūrālis, from praeter nātūram, from praeter (“beyond”) + nātūra (“nature”); compare supernatural.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
- British English: /ˌpɹiː.təˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more preternatural (comparative)
most preternatural (superlative)
praeternatural (alternative)
præternatural (alternative, archaic)