paranormal
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Not in accordance with scientific laws.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pehruhnawrmuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
pɛɹəˈnɔɹməl
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.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not in accordance with scientific laws
“What seemed to be paranormal manifestations.”
Of events, experiences, or phenomenona, that cannot be explained by current scientific understanding or natural laws.
noun
with the
Paranormal phenomenona collectively: all things paranormal; things with paranormality.
A person to whom paranormal powers are attributed.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not in accordance with scientific laws
Used this way, paranormal is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
“What seemed to be paranormal manifestations.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
- Science
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use paranormal
- “What seemed to be paranormal manifestations.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: paranormal phenomenona collectively
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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.