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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
Now weeks removed, an unconventional applicant looks like a natural in the role. Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2025 The brand was founded by Antony Buck and Robert Calcraft and positioned itself in the naturals category, which by the time of its acquisition had become among the fastest-growing skin care segments globally. Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 1 May 2025
Noun
Best Linen Dresses Linen provides summer-friendly moisture-wicking material and natural fibers that encourage the air flow needed for humid days in Europe. Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2025 Usually having $100 billion of natural catastrophes is a very active season. Ayesha Javed, Time, 20 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for natural
Recent Examples of Synonyms for natural
Adjective
  • The result features many innovations never before seen in a humanoid figure, including new methods to create more realistic skin and replicate the twinkle in Walt’s eye which Imagineers established was because of what is known as a corneal bulge.
    Caroline Reid, Forbes.com, 21 July 2025
  • Could physicists resolve Penrose’s singularities by moving to something a little more quantum, and therefore a little more realistic?
    Charlie Wood, Wired News, 20 July 2025
Adjective
  • Shaw has said he was reborn after the shooting and years later would become a born-again Christian.
    Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle, 9 June 2019
  • In his mid-40s, Mr. Phillips had quietly become a born-again Christian after attending a Billy Graham rally.
    James R. Hagerty, WSJ, 18 Jan. 2019
Adjective
  • When work aligns with personal values, intrinsic motivation flourishes.
    AllBusiness, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
  • Behind that, the bourbon’s intrinsic grain, vanilla, chocolate, and caramel notes buttress the palate, making this a unique sipper that would work really well in an Old Fashioned for coffee lovers.
    Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 17 July 2025
Adjective
  • The essence of the review is evaluation, which of course doesn’t imply the crude simplicity of a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 24 July 2025
  • Oil prices have been soft this year, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures off about 9% per barrel, and Brent crude futures down 8%.
    Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 23 July 2025
Adjective
  • The East Asian neighbors have two ongoing disputes in the East China Sea: one over the sovereignty of the uninhabited Senkaku island group—administered by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyu Islands—and the other over energy exploration in the region.
    Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 July 2025
  • Consequently, all the oases in his model were considered uninhabited.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2025
Adjective
  • Plaintiff Phone Discovery: Critical Strategic Elements Successful phone discovery requires understanding several strategic elements that can significantly improve outcomes: The Education Component: Many resistance issues stem from genuine misunderstanding about what cell phone forensics involves.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • There’s real reason for caution here, starting with the idea that interactions with A.I. can be treated as genuine relationships.
    Paul Bloom, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • For finance teams, this could mean agentic AI automatically initiating vendor payments, adjusting forecasts or triggering alerts around policy changes without human bottlenecks.
    Karen Abramson, Forbes.com, 16 July 2025
  • The human eye is capable of picking out objects with a brightness of +6.5 or greater from a dark sky location.
    Anthony Wood, Space.com, 15 July 2025
Adjective
  • Carlson said he's seen a lot of online comments on posts about his new record claiming the fish's weight seems impossible and bow fishing being illegitimate.
    Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 23 July 2025
  • However, in past few years, the European Union has focused its attention on regulating activities in freeports, especially after increasing instances of use of these freeports, including those in Switzerland and Geneva, for illegitimate activities.
    Priya Prakash Royal Esq. LL.M. MBA AEP TEP, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Natural.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natural. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

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