produced by humankind; not occurring naturally: artificial materials of great strength made in imitation of a natural product, esp as a substitute; not genuine: artificial cream pretended; assumed; insincere: an artificial manner lacking in spontaneity; affected: an artificial laugh relating to superficial characteristics not based on the interrelationships of organisms: an artificial classification
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
ar•ti•fi•cial /ˌɑrtəˈfɪʃəl/USA pronunciation
adj.
ar•ti•fi•cial•ly, adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- made by human skill; not natural:an artificial satellite.
- Jewelry, imitation;
not real: artificial vanilla flavoring. - lacking naturalness;
false;
forced:an artificial smile.
ar•ti•fi•cial•ly, adv.
ar•ti•fi•cial
(är′tə fish′əl),USA pronunciation adj.
ar′ti•fi′cial•ly, adv.
ar′ti•fi′cial•ness, n.
- made by human skill;
produced by humans (opposed to natural):artificial flowers. - Jewelryimitation;
simulated;
sham:artificial vanilla flavoring. - lacking naturalness or spontaneity;
forced;
contrived;
feigned:an artificial smile. - full of affectation;
affected;
stilted:artificial manners; artificial speech. - made without regard to the particular needs of a situation, person, etc.;
imposed arbitrarily;
unnatural:artificial rules for dormitory residents. - Biologybased on arbitrary, superficial characteristics rather than natural, organic relationships:an artificial system of classification.
- Jewelrymanufactured to resemble a natural gem, in chemical composition or appearance. Cf. assembled, imitation (def. 11), synthetic (def. 6).
- Latin artificiālis contrived by art; see artifice, -al1
- Middle English 1350–1400
ar′ti•fi′cial•ness, n.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged synthetic.
- 2, 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged counterfeit, factitious.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged pretentious.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged genuine, real.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'artificial limb' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):