preternatural

adjective

pre·ter·nat·u·ral ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rəl

-ˈnach-rəl,

pre-

: existing outside of nature

: exceeding what is natural or regular : extraordinary

wits trained to preternatural acuteness by the debates

G. L. Dickinson

: inexplicable by ordinary means

especially : psychic

preternatural phenomena

preternaturally

ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rə-lē

-ˈnach-rə-

-ˈna-chər-

pre-

adverb

preternaturalness

ˌprē-tər-ˈna-chə-rəl-nəs

-ˈnach-rəl-

pre-

noun

Did you know?

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.

Example Sentences

She has a preternatural ability to charm people. There was a preternatural quiet in the house.

Recent Examples on the Web His preternatural ability to calm her is what persuaded Taylor to go forward with the transplant.

Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 20 Nov. 2022 Turn-in is preternatural, the steering is purer, and, another surprise, this car better resists tramlining too.

Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 31 Oct. 2022 Altuve singled in the fifth and then showed off his preternatural bat-to-ball skills in the seventh, slashing at the pitch above his eyes and smiling wide at first base.

Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2022 However, Freddy is unlike other cookie-cutter slasher killers, as the preternatural villain slays his victims in their dreams.

Steven Thrash, EW.com, 27 Oct. 2022 Baltimore's players respected the aggressiveness that is preternatural for their coach.

Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2022 The case for Picasso makes itself, with the preternatural range of his formal and iconographic leaps—forward, backward, and sideways—in what painting could be made, or dared, to do.

Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2022 She was not imbued with any preternatural wit, or presence, or beauty, or grace.

Monica Hesse, Washington Post, 8 Sep. 2022 The towering, quick-twitch teen possessed preternatural athleticism and the inner drive to eventually earn a scholarship to the University of Florida.

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 2 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'preternatural.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.