Synonyms of artificial

artificial

adjective

ˌär-tə-ˈfi-shᵊl 

1

as in unnatural

lacking in natural or spontaneous quality

their artificial smiles did not make us feel very welcome

Synonyms & Similar Words

• unnatural
• strained
• mock
• false
• fake
• mechanical
• simulated
• pseudo
• exaggerated
• plastic
• affected
• contrived
• factitious
• theatrical
• forced
• phony
• spurious
• bogus
• assumed
• cute
• feigned
• sham
• unreal
• hollow
• automatic
• put-on
• pretended
• manufactured
• empty
• unrealistic
• formal
• deliberate
• unauthentic
• conventional
• stiff
• wooden
• insincere
• pat
• hypocritical
• canned
• calculated
• fabricated
• conscious
• melodramatic
• hokey
• impersonal
• labored
• unctuous
• rigid
• facile
• stylized
• histrionic
• concocted
• cultivated
• mealy
• mincing
• artful
• inflexible
• overdone
• genteel
• premeditated
• two-faced
• cutesy
• simpering
• studied
• overacted
• left-handed
• mealymouthed
• overrefined
• double-dealing
• goody-goody

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• natural
• real
• genuine
• spontaneous
• unaffected
• realistic
• authentic
• right
• true
• artless
• bona fide
• sincere
• honest
• unforced
• easy
• smooth
• ingenuous
• uncontrived
• unfeigned
• unconscious
• instinctive
• effortless
• impromptu
• extemporaneous
• impulsive
• unpretending
• unstudied
• unrehearsed
• unprompted

2

as in fake

not being or expressing what one appears to be or express

the familiar sight of the award winner accepting the artificial congratulations of the other nominees

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fake
• double
• lip
• strained
• superficial
• meaningless
• unnatural
• hollow
• mechanical
• counterfeit
• insincere
• hypocritical
• phony
• pretended
• false
• unctuous
• feigned
• backhanded
• pious
• phony-baloney
• mealy
• affected
• assumed
• jive
• simulated
• double-faced
• contrived
• empty
• dishonest
• forced
• two-faced
• Janus-faced
• mealymouthed
• left-handed
• double-dealing
• Pecksniffian
• deceitful
• sham
• glib
• put-on
• untruthful
• bogus
• facile
• devious
• claptrap
• sanctimonious
• facetious
• jocular
• tongue-in-cheek
• campy
• pharisaical
• simon-pure
• self-righteous
• canting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• sincere
• artless
• honest
• heartfelt
• candid
• direct
• unfeigned
• plain
• open
• undesigning
• straightforward
• frank
• forthright
• heart-to-heart

3

as in synthetic

being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials

artificial fruit made from wax

Synonyms & Similar Words

• synthetic
• faux
• simulated
• fake
• imitation
• dummy
• false
• imitative
• mock
• manufactured
• ersatz
• mimic
• factitious
• substitute
• bogus
• man-made
• counterfeit
• designer
• pretend
• sham
• process
• deceptive
• cultured
• manipulated
• engineered
• fabricated
• unauthentic
• pseudo
• forged
• misleading
• adulterated
• fraudulent
• concocted
• phony
• doctored
• spurious
• feigned
• fudged
• affected
• juggled
• tampered (with)
• pinchbeck
• brummagem

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• natural
• genuine
• true
• legitimate
• authentic
• bona fide
• valuable
• pure
• quality
• premium
• unadulterated

4

as in nonnatural

produced by humans rather than natural processes

I find that artificial sweeteners often have an odd aftertaste

Synonyms & Similar Words

• synthetic
• nonnatural
• man-made
• processed
• manufactured
• mechanical
• industrial
• refined
• imitation
• fabricated
• cultivated
• faux
• ersatz

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• natural
• raw
• crude

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of artificial

Wall Street drifted to a quiet finish Monday after stocks of chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom trimmed some of their recent losses. — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Kittle suffered an Achilles tear in January at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, which uses natural grass mixed with artificial grass for Eagles games. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026

Though the song is heavily acoustic, its distorted guitar solos hail squarely from the realm of harder rock, and the artificial choirs that seep in toward the end seem to call out to the symphonic citadels of the Norwegian black metallers. — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026

Beautiful flowers in an artificial hill would be replaced with a grove of Japanese cypress trees. — Hiroshige Yazawa Japan News, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026