Main Entry:

ar·ti·fi·cial

Pronunciation:

\ˌär-tə-ˈfi-sh^əl\

Function:

adjective

Date:

14th century

1: humanly contrived often on a natural model : man-made <an artificial limb> <artificial diamonds>2 a: having existence in legal, economic, or political theory b: caused or produced by a human and especially social or political agency <an artificial price advantage> <artificial barriers of discrimination — R. C. Weaver>3obsolete : artful, cunning4 a: lacking in natural or spontaneous quality <an artificial smile> <an artificial excitement> b: imitation, sham <artificial flavor>5: based on differential morphological characters not necessarily indicative of natural relationships <an artificial key for plant identification>

— ar·ti·fi·ci·al·i·ty \ˌär-tə-ˌfi-shē-ˈa-lə-tē\ noun

— ar·ti·fi·cial·ly \-ˈfi-sh^əl-ē\ adverb

— ar·ti·fi·cial·ness \-ˈfi-shəl-nəs\ noun