artificial

adjective

Simple meaning

Insincere; fake, forced.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ahrtuhfishuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ɑɹtəˈfɪʃəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

Man-made; made by humans; of artifice.
Insincere; fake, forced, or feigned.
Not natural or normal: imposed arbitrarily or without regard to the specifics or normal circumstances of a person, a situation, etc.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Word Aura is being prepared for this meaning.

More ways to use artificial

“The store sells artificial flowers that look incredibly real.”

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Natural / based

artificial heat

Man

artificial silk

Conveying

artificial means

Other combinations

artificial lighting

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

artificiallyadverbDerived adverb
Not according to nature.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

artificial flowernounCompound term
A handmade imitation of a blossom.
artificial heartnounCompound term
A pump that replaces the natural heart.
artificial horizonnounCompound term
A navigational instrument based on a gyroscope.
artificial inseminationnounCompound term
The introduction of semen into the oviduct or uterus by some means other than sexual intercourse.
artificial intelligencenounCompound term
The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively.
artificial jointnounCompound term
A metal or plastic part that is surgically implanted to replace a natural joint (possibly elbow or wrist but usually hip or knee).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: man-made

simulatedsyntheticTechnicalunnaturalconventionalizedsemisyntheticTechnical

Antonyms

Sense: man-made

natural

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “artificial” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.