preternatural

adjective

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

-ˈnach-rəl,

pre-

1

: existing outside of nature

2

: exceeding what is natural or regular : extraordinary

wits trained to preternatural acuteness by the debates

—G. L. Dickinson

3

: 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.

Synonyms

• aberrant
• aberrated
• abnormal
• anomalous
• atypical
• especial
• exceeding
• exceptional
• extraordinaire
• extraordinary
• freak
• odd
• peculiar
• phenomenal
• rare
• singular
• uncommon
• uncustomary
• unique
• unusual
• unwonted

Examples of preternatural in a Sentence

She has a preternatural ability to charm people.

There was a preternatural quiet in the house.

Recent Examples on the Web

Reyes’ borderline preternatural resilience quickly becomes an amusing running gag in a movie that plays like the most splatterific Looney Tunes cartoon ever made. —Joe Leydon, Variety, 8 May 2025

But his preternatural talent attracts more than local revelers; vampires descend on the party, culminating in a bloody fight for freedom. —Angelique Jackson, Variety, 22 Apr. 2025

Comments Director and former actor Ron Howard may have landed his first series regular gig on The Andy Griffith Show at the ripe old age of 5, but even a preternatural talent may get rusty. —Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025

There, his preternatural musical ability sets off a chain of supernatural events. —Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 19 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, from Latin praeter naturam beyond nature

First Known Use

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for preternatural

• supernatural
• natural
• unnatural

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

preternatural

adjective

pre·​ter·​nat·​u·​ral ˌprēt-ər-ˈnach(-ə)-rəl 

: beyond what is natural : unable to be explained by ordinary means

preternaturally

-ˈnach(-ə)-rə-lē 

-ˈnach-ər-lē

adverb