Preternatural \Pre`ter*nat"u*ral\ (?; 135), a. [Pref. preter +
natural.]
Beyond of different from what is natural, or according to the
regular course of things, but not clearly supernatural or
miraculous; strange; inexplicable; extraordinary; uncommon;
irregular; abnormal; as, a preternatural appearance; a
preternatural stillness; a preternatural presentation (in
childbirth) or labor.
[1913 Webster]
This vile and preternatural temper of mind. --South.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: See Supernatural.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
preternatural
adj 1: surpassing the ordinary or normal; "Beyond his preternatural
affability there is some acid and some steel"- George
Will
2: existing outside of or not in accordance with nature; "find
transcendental motives for sublunary action"-Aldous Huxley
[syn: nonnatural, otherworldly, transcendental]
WordNet (r) 2.0
43 Moby Thesaurus words for "preternatural":
aberrant, anomalous, arcane, atypical, deviant, deviative, eerie,
esoteric, extramundane, extraterrestrial, fey, heteroclite,
hypernormal, hyperphysical, miraculous, mysterious, nonnatural,
numinous, occult, otherworldly, preterhuman, preternormal,
pretersensual, psychic, spiritual, superhuman, superior,
supermundane, supernatural, supernormal, superphysical,
supersensible, supersensual, supramundane, supranatural,
transcendental, transmundane, unearthly, unhuman, unnatural,
unrepresentative, untypical, unworldly
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
nonnatural, otherworldly, transcendental
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