NATURAL Synonyms: 440 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

natural 1 of 2

adjective

ˈna-ch(ə-)rəl

Definition of natural

as in realistic

closely resembling the object imitated the diorama featuring stuffed birds and plastic plants actually looked very natural

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in born

being such from birth or by nature from his first visits to the wading pool, we could tell that our little boy loved water and was a natural swimmer

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as in biological

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

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as in intrinsic

being a part of the innermost nature of a person or thing her natural talent for music first became apparent when, unbidden, she started banging on a toy piano

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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 genuine

free from any intent to deceive or impress others she was completely natural in expressing her feelings for him, unafraid of how they would be received

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as in human

relating to or characteristic of human beings it's only natural to make mistakes—it's part of being human

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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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legitimate

as in great

having, characterized by, or arising from a dignified and generous nature his late grandfather was as kind and natural a man as one could ever hope to meet

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as in barbarian

not civilized a natural man, unacquainted with the blessings and burdens of society

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natural

2 of 2

noun

as in phenomenon

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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

Some of the bodily clocks that affect you every day are the sleep-wake, or circadian, rhythm and your chronotype, which is the body’s natural timing preference—often described as being either an early bird or a night owl. — Masha Remskar, Scientific American, 29 Aug. 2026 Greening is a natural reaction—not a sign of rot or spoilage in the traditional sense. — Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 29 Aug. 2026

Noun

This SheaMoisture bestseller is an oldie but goodie, and has historically been a popular pick for beginner naturals (speaking from experience). — Eden Stuart, Glamour, 5 Mar. 2026 In the bawdy comedic scene, Tommy wakes up au natural in his hotel bed after an amorous evening with his wife, Angela Norris (Ali Larter), to find a shocked housekeeper in the hotel room. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for natural

Recent Examples of Synonyms for natural

Adjective

While Patchett’s depiction of equine behavior is fairly realistic, the decisions of the main character in this central tale are less so.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Modular systems, portable data and realistic fallback plans keep one dependency from becoming the foundation of the whole business.

— Atul Sabharwal, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of realistic

Adjective

Depending on the policy, coverage can differ for diagnostic testing, hereditary or congenital conditions, prescription medications, rehabilitation, behavioral treatment and other types of care.

— Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
During pregnancy, providers can diagnose some congenital syndromes that might need immediate attention after birth.

— Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of congenital

Adjective

The Financial Times has argued that the astronomical prices of top modernist paintings are less about intrinsic artistic value than wealth, scarcity, and the concentration of buying power among billionaires.

— George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Repurchases can create significant value when a company's shares trade below management's estimate of intrinsic value, because each remaining shareholder owns a larger percentage of the company afterward.

— Robert Daugherty, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of intrinsic

Adjective

Adopting the vendor’s native agentic capabilities is highly likely to cost less than building bespoke agents.

— Rob Green, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Mining the moribund annals of art history, the duo create tenderly wrought paintings and drawings that often revisit the aesthetics of the Hapsburg and Ottoman Empires, which overtook large swaths of the artists’ native Croatia for centuries.

— Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of native

Adjective

Biscayne 21, now an uninhabited shell, sits on a bayfront slice of Edgewater, a high-end residential neighborhood just north of downtown Miami.

— Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026
The phone was deliberately dropped over uninhabited terrain to reduce any risk to people on the ground.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of uninhabited

Adjective

With what seems like little embellishment to real locations (including a genuine culture of female-only caddies sporting bright colors), the movie captures a languid, top-down strangeness.

— Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
The aesthetic lineage Wingard invokes relied on the genuine nastiness of works like Faster, Pussycat!

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of genuine

Adjective

Five to six years ago, certainly, people were not thinking about agentic AI systems that can plan and complete multi-step tasks with little to no human intervention.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
The former chief futurist at OpenAI predicts that there will inevitably be rogue AI agents operating independently of human control.

— Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of human

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“Natural.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/natural. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of natural

adjective

noun

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