Synonyms for preternatural
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Unearthly — beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange
unearthly, uncanny, inexplicable, extraordinary, abnormal, anomalous, aberrant, exceptional
2. Transcendental
3. Supernatural — having an existence outside the natural world
supernatural, superhuman, unnatural, paranormal, irreal, superempirical
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange.
- adj. 2
Having an existence outside the natural world.
Related words
- Word family
- preternaturality preternaturally preternaturalness preterite pretermit pretermission
- Other spellings
- praeternatural
Choose the right word
Preternatural signifies beside nature, and supernatural, above or beyond nature. What is very greatly aside from the ordinary course of things is preternatural; what is above or beyond the established laws of the universe is supernatural.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- extraordinary Boris had an extraordinary talent in martial arts.
- uncanny She bears an uncanny resemblance to Marilyn Monroe.
- inexplicable There was something inexplicable about the story.
- unearthly The snow on Lulu Island seems eerie and unearthly.
- inhuman At least I'm not starting to praise inhuman practices.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| preternatural | rising | |
| extraordinary | steady | |
| uncanny | rising | |
| inexplicable | rising | |
| unearthly | rising | |
| inhuman | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 6 letters
- irreal
- 7 letters
- uncanny3, inhuman3
- 8 letters
- abnormal3, aberrant3
- 9 letters
- unnatural4, anomalous4, unearthly3
- 10 letters
- paranormal4, superhuman4, nonnatural
- 11 letters
- exceptional4
- 12 letters
- supernatural5, inexplicable5
- 13 letters
- extraordinary6
- 14 letters
- transcendental4, superempirical
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (uncanny3 = 3 syllables).