Definition of “natural” - English Dictionary

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“natural” in English

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naturaladjective

uk ​ /ˈnætʃ.ər.əl/ us ​ /ˈnætʃ.ɚ.əl/

natural adjective (NOT ARTIFICIAL)

B1 as found in nature and not involving anything made or done by people:

a natural substance
People say that breast-feeding is better than bottle-feeding because it's more natural.
He died from natural causes (= because he was old or ill).
Floods and earthquakes are natural disasters.

C1 A natural ability or characteristic is one that you were born with:

natural beauty
a natural talent for sports
She's a natural blonde (= her real hair colour is blonde).

› Natural food or drink is pure and has no chemical substances added to it and is therefore thought to be healthy:

natural mineral water
natural ingredients
sb's natural mother/father/parent

› a parent who caused someone to be born, although possibly not their legal parent or the parent who raised them

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natural adjective (EXPECTED)

B2 normal or expected:

Of course you're upset - it's only natural.
It's natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home.
It's quite natural to experience a few doubts just before you get married.

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naturalnoun [ C ]

uk ​ /ˈnætʃ.ər.əl/ us ​ /ˈnætʃ.ɚ.əl/ informal

(Definition of “natural” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“natural” in American English

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naturaladjective

us ​ /ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/

natural adjective (NOT ARTIFICIAL)

› from nature; not artificial or involving anything made or caused by people:

Cotton is a natural fiber.
He died of natural causes (= because he was old or ill).
Floods and earthquakes are natural disasters.

› If food or drink is described as natural, it means it has no artificial chemical substances added to it.

natural adjective (BORN WITH)

› having an ability or characteristic because you were born with it:

a natural athlete
a natural blonde

natural adjective (EXPECTED)

› to be expected; usual:

a natural reaction
[ + to infinitive ] It’s only natural to be upset when your dog dies.

natural adjective (MUSIC)

› music /ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/ [ not gradable ] (of written music) having no sharp or flat:

a B natural
a natural scale

naturalnoun [ C ]

us ​ /ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/

natural noun [ C ] (MUSIC)

› music /ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/ a mark in written music that shows that a note should return to its original pitch

natural noun [ C ] (PERSON BORN WITH)

› infml a person born with the characteristics or abilities needed for doing something:

She won’t have any trouble learning to ride a horse – she’s a natural.

(Definition of “natural” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

“natural” in Business English

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naturaladjective

uk ​ /ˈnætʃərəl/ us ​

› as found in nature, and not involving anything made or done by people:

natural flavourings/foods/ingredients Over 50% of all cosmetics products in the Chinese market are advertised as consisting of natural ingredients.
They are implementing a major economic recovery programme after the country's worst-ever natural disaster.

› normal or expected:

Having seen the value of their shares collapse, it was only natural for shareholders to complain.
For the customer, the natural choice is a repayment mortgage, not an endowment.

› used to describe an ability or a characteristic that someone was born with:

He was a natural leader.

(Definition of “natural” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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