Dictionary

artificial en · ADJ

Pronunciation

/ˌɑɹ.təˈfɪʃ.əl/ (Canada, General-American)
[ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.l̩] (Received-Pronunciation)
ätəfĭsh'əl (Received-Pronunciation)
(California) audio
/ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
ärtəfĭsh'əl (Canada, General-American)
[ˌɐː.ɾəˈfɪʃ.l̩] (Australia)
[ˌɑɹ.ɾəˈfɪʃ.l̩] (Canada, General-American)
/ˌɐː.təˈfɪʃ.əl/ (Australia)

Etymology

From Middle English artificial (“man-made”) via Old French (modern French artificiel), from Latin artificiālis from artificium (“skill”), from artifex, from ars (“skill”), and -fex, from facere (“to make”). Displaced native Old English cræftlīċ.

Meanings

Man-made; made by humans; of artifice.
- An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time. 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
- The flowers were artificial, and he thought them rather tacky.
Insincere; fake, forced, or feigned.
- Her manner was somewhat artificial.
Not natural or normal: imposed arbitrarily or without regard to the specifics or normal circumstances of a person, a situation, etc.
- In Alberta, for example, policy documents reinforce an artificial distinction between leadership-related activity and management. 2016 November 10, Gabriele Lakomski, Scott Eacott, Colin W. Evers, Questioning Leadership: New directions for educational organisations, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 156:
- [If] the economic literature of the eighteenth century is examined in terms other than the narrow categories of free trade and protection, the artificial division between the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries would break down . 2002 May 9, Maxine Berg, Pat Hudson, Michael Sonenscher, Manufacture in Town and Country Before the Factory, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 35:
- “How quickly have I fallen!” thought Tarzan; but in his heart he did not consider it a fall—rather, he pitied the poor creatures of Paris, penned up like prisoners in their silly clothes, and watched by policemen all their poor lives, that they might do nothing that was not entirely artificial and tiresome. 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 131:
- The method of suppression is generally either an artificial conflation of public and private, in which the public is represented as private, or an artificial separation of public from private, which distracts attention from the public[…] 2017 July 12, A. Javier Trevino, The Sociology of Law: Classical and Contemporary Perspectives, Routledge, →ISBN:
- This results in an artificial conflation of the individual crises experienced by Western European states and leads to imprecise judgements on the impact of Marshall. This confusing conflation is not simply the product of retrospection. 1990 February 19, Peter Burnham, The Political Economy of Postwar Reconstruction, Springer, →ISBN, page 73:
Based on characteristics useful for identification, without regard for the formal differences used in classification.
- Artificial keys are devised purely to facilitate determination […] 1966 October, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume I, New York, N.Y.; London: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 3:
Conveying some meaning other than the actual contents of one's hand.
- An artificial bid doesn't necessarily show length in the suit being bid, it has an altogether different meaning. 1999, Edwin B. Kantar, Eddie Kantar Teaches Advanced Bridge Defense, page 191:
- North makes an artificial call of 3♧, the cheapest suit at the 3 level, to show a very poor hand. What North holds in clubs doesn't matter at all. 2008, David Galt, Teach Yourself Visually Bridge, page 219:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Labels	Source
most artificial	Degree=Sup		lexicographic
more artificial	Degree=Cmp		lexicographic

Translations (180)

ast artificial (unnatural) · it falso (false, misleading) · ga tacair (man-made) · ru ненатура́льный (unnatural) · sq artificial (false, misleading) · tr suni (man-made) · ta செயற்கை (man-made) · th เทียม (unnatural) · sa कृत्रिम (man-made) · sh vjèštāčkī (man-made) · gd fuadain (false, misleading) · az saxta (false, misleading) · fi keinotekoinen (man-made) · udm лэсьтэм (man-made) · gl artificial (man-made) · bg прикри́т (false, misleading) · tg маснӯъӣ (man-made) · hu mesterséges (man-made) · ko 인공 (man-made) · pa ਬਣਾਉਟੀ (man-made) · io artificala (man-made) · pt artificial (unnatural) · bn কৃত্রিম (man-made) · nl artificieel (unnatural) · nl artificieel (man-made) · pt artificial (false, misleading) · da artificiel (man-made) · pt falso (false, misleading) · el τεχνητός (man-made) · kpv лӧсьӧдӧм (man-made) · sa कल्पित (man-made) · tr yapay (unnatural) · mk неприроден (unnatural) · sv konstlad (unnatural) · es artificial (false, misleading) · gl artificial (unnatural) · tr yapmacık (false, misleading) · kk жасанды (man-made) · de künstlich (man-made) · ro artificial (false, misleading) · uk шту́чний (man-made) · sv artificiell (man-made) · ug سۈنئىي (man-made) · hi अप्राकृतिक (unnatural) · nb kunstig (man-made) · ro artificial (unnatural) · uz sunʼiy (man-made) · nl onnatuurlijk (unnatural) · ca artificial (unnatural) · he מְלָאכוּתִי (man-made) · ru иску́сственный (unnatural) · nl artificieel (false, misleading) · vi nhân tạo (man-made) · it artificiale (man-made) · bg неесте́ствен (unnatural) · tr yapay (man-made) · ru иску́сственный (false, misleading) · de affektiert (unnatural) · sl narejen (false, misleading) · bn কৃত্রিম (unnatural) · eo artefarita (man-made) · nl kunstmatig (false, misleading) · ast artificial (false, misleading) · kmr destkar (man-made) · ja 人工の (man-made) · cmn 人造的 (man-made) · fa-ira مَصْنوعی (man-made) · eo arta (unnatural) · ro fals (false, misleading) · hy արհեստական (unnatural) · bg изку́ствен (man-made) · ru иску́сственный (man-made) · hi कृत्रिम (man-made) · it artificioso (man-made) · tl balat-bunga (man-made) · ast artificial (man-made) · hy արհեստական (false, misleading) · fi teko- (man-made) · tr yapmacık (unnatural) · ja 人為的な (unnatural) · ro nenatural (unnatural) · nl kunstmatig (man-made) · ang cræftlīċ (man-made) · az süni (man-made) · ml കൃത്രിമം (man-made) · el επίπλαστος (false, misleading) · fi luonnoton (unnatural) · it artefatto (false, misleading) · grc πλαστός (false, misleading) · nl nagemaakt (false, misleading) · be шту́чны (man-made) · oc artificial (man-made) · it artefatto (unnatural) · te కృత్రిమమైన (man-made) · gl falso (false, misleading) · tr sahte (false, misleading) · eo nenatura (unnatural) · sv konstlad (false, misleading) · kmr deskar (unnatural) · pl artyficjalny (man-made) · sq artificial (unnatural) · ru неесте́ственный (unnatural) · gd breugach (false, misleading) · es artificial (man-made) · ru притво́рный (false, misleading) · hy արհեստական (man-made) · mk вештачки (unnatural) · mr कृत्रिम (man-made) · eu artifizial (man-made) · mn хиймэл (man-made) · ang cræftlīċ (false, misleading) · it innaturale (unnatural) · sl umeten (man-made) · pt artificial (man-made) · et tehislik (man-made) · fi teennäinen (unnatural) · hu mesterséges (unnatural) · ca artificial (false, misleading) · de künstlich (false, misleading) · it artificioso (false, misleading) · ar صِنَاعِيّ (man-made) · nl kunstmatig (unnatural) · grc χειροποίητος (man-made) · gd fuadain (man-made) · eo arta (man-made) · it artefatto (man-made) · az süni (false, misleading) · cs umělý (man-made) · th เทียม (false, misleading) · nci tlacachihualli (man-made) · cmn 人為 /人为 (unnatural) · el τεχνητός (false, misleading) · ko 인조 (man-made) · hi असत्य (false, misleading) · es artificial (based on characteristics useful for identification) · nrf artificiel (man-made) · an artificial (man-made) · bg прину́ден (unnatural) · ur مَصْنُوعی (man-made) · sk umelý (man-made) · kmr destkar (unnatural) · lv mākslīgais (man-made) · ro artificial (man-made) · et kunstlik (man-made) · fi keino- (man-made) · ko 인위적 (unnatural) · ga saorga (man-made) · ca fals (false, misleading) · sq artificial (man-made) · tl gawa-gawa (man-made) · fi teennäinen (false, misleading) · nl nagemaakt (unnatural) · te అసహజమైన (unnatural) · sh vèštāčkī (man-made) · dsb kumštny (man-made) · hu mesterkélt (false, misleading) · az süni (unnatural) · es artificial (unnatural) · vo mekavik (man-made) · ca artificial (man-made) · mk вештачки (false, misleading) · de unnatürlich (unnatural) · tr yapay (false, misleading) · pl sztuczny (man-made) · el τεχνητός (unnatural) · hi झूठा (false, misleading) · ar مُتَصَنَّع (man-made) · sv konstgjord (man-made) · el αφύσικος (unnatural) · az uydurma (false, misleading) · da kunstig (man-made) · fa-ira ساخْتَگی (man-made) · th เทียม (man-made) · nci tlachihualli (man-made) · mk вештачки (man-made) · sh umjetan (man-made) · fr artificiel (man-made) · lt dirbtinis (man-made) · sh вјѐшта̄чкӣ (man-made) · sh вѐшта̄чкӣ (man-made)

artificial en · ADJ

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Translations (180)