preternatural
adjective
G. L. Dickinson
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Preternatural derives from the Latin phrase praeter naturam, which means "beyond nature." Medieval Latin scholars rendered the term as praeternaturalis, and that form inspired the modern English version. Unusual things are sometimes considered positive and sometimes negative, and throughout its history preternatural has been used to refer to both exceptionally good things and unnaturally evil ones. In its earliest documented uses in the 1500s, it tended to emphasize the strange, ominous, or foreboding, but by the 1700s, people were using it more benignly to refer to fascinating supernatural (or even heavenly) phenomena. Nowadays, people regularly use it to describe the remarkable abilities of exceptional humans.
Synonyms
Examples of preternatural in a Sentence
Rachel Sugar, Bon Appétit, 7 Dec. 2023
At the same time, for someone with Batiste’s preternatural musical fluency, the very act of feeling his fingers on those keys, playing those piano notes with that meaning behind them moves him to another place.
—Michael Ordoña, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023
Cooper, as an actor, has always had a preternatural gleam.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 2 Sep. 2023
Those rights, coupled with his preternatural abilities, earned Onyeagoro a four-star ranking in his debut season, and attention from college scouts across the country.
—Haleemon Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2023
His collaborators described him as a musician of preternatural talent who was always looking to improve.
—Javier C. Hernández, New York Times, 14 July 2023
All of it is augmented by a preternatural sense of timing.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 11 May 2023
Trump the Stage Manager has a preternatural ability to confuse facts and dodge accountability.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 14 June 2023
With the preternatural field vision of Mia Hamm and lovability of a Ted Lasso character, no one is better suited to lead the charge.
—Rose Minutaglio, ELLE, 17 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preternatural.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam beyond nature
1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Preternatural.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preternatural. Accessed 9 Jan. 2024.
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preternatural
adjective
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