unnaturally
adverb
Simple meaning
In a way at variance with what is natural or normal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhnnacheruhleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ənˈnætʃɚəli
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.
adverb
In an unnatural manner; to an unnatural extent.
In a manner at variance with what is natural or normal
“The early Church not unnaturally adopted the position that failure to see the messianic character of his work was really caused by the people's own blindness.”
In an unnatural way
“His other arm lay across his chest, unnaturally, as if placed there deliberately, for a purpose.”
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In an unnatural manner; to an unnatural extent.
Used this way, unnaturally is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Unnaturaladverb
“His other arm lay across his chest, unnaturally, as if placed there deliberately, for a purpose.”
Varianceadverb
“The early Church not unnaturally adopted the position that failure to see the messianic character of his work was really caused by the people's own blindness.”
More ways to use unnaturally
- “His other arm lay across his chest, unnaturally, as if placed there deliberately, for a purpose.”adverb
- “The early Church not unnaturally adopted the position that failure to see the messianic character of his work was really caused by the people's own blindness.”adverb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Not in accordance with or determined by nature.
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 “unnaturally” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
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.