Meaning of natural in English

normalTemperatures are well above normal today.
usualI went to bed at my usual time.
ordinaryThe magazine has stories about ordinary people rather than celebrities.
standardIt's standard practice for surgeons to wear gloves.
naturalIt's completely natural to feel anxious on your first day at a new school.
typicalHe was a typical teenager - arguing with his parents and staying out late.

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Loss of memory is a natural concomitant of old age.
Unhappiness was woven into the natural fabric of people's lives.
It's only natural that you should worry about your children.
She'd always worked with old people so becoming a nurse was a natural progression.
I think a certain amount of worry about work is very natural, but you've got to keep it in proportion .

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Habitual and customary

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natural adjective (MUSIC)

[ after noun ]

(of a musical note) not sharp or flat:

E natural

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Notes of the musical scale

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natural

noun [ C ]

informal

/ˈnætʃ.ər.əl/ us

/ˈnætʃ.ɚ.əl/

someone who was born with the right characteristics or abilities for doing a particular thing:

She won't have any troubles learning to ride a horse - you can see she's a natural.

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Experts and specialists

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natural

adverb

informal

/ˈnætʃ.ər.əl/ us

/ˈnætʃ.ɚ.əl/

in a way that is normal and relaxed:

You're supposed to act natural when we're recording the video.

See also

naturally

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Exciting and interesting

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Habitual and customary

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

natural | American Dictionary

natural

adjective

/ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/

natural adjective (NOT ARTIFICIAL)

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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)

[ not gradable ] music us/ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/

(of written music) having no sharp or flat:

a B natural

a natural scale

natural

noun [ C ]

/ˈnætʃ·ər·əl/

natural noun [C] (MUSIC)

music us/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 | Business English

natural

adjective

/ˈnætʃərəl/ us

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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)

Examples of natural

natural

Such a function represents a partial function on naturals, where the proof of even (n) may be seen as a precondition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is no real difference between the usual first-order objects of the mathematical discourse - such as naturals, sets and so forth - and the proof objects.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The naturals are simple to enumerate, and there clearly exists a bijection between the naturals and the rationals; but this bijection is not simple to compute.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The third type, a logarithm (base 2, base 10, or natural) of the unsigned fold change, is undoubtedly the most tractable.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In natural populations, lifespan and reproductive period are thought to co-evolve.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The distinctions which associate the masculine with the intellectual and the feminine with the non-intellectual are acknowledged to be social rather than natural.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The use of peptides that differ from those resulting from natural intracellular processing has previously given rise to similar problems.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Instead, they develop natural immunity against the different serotypes, though this immunity gradually declines with old age.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is some evidence that early exposure to high natural levels of cat allergens can prevent such an inappropriate immune response.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Scientists have worked on gaining clearer and better-grounded beliefs about the natural world.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Resentment was thus the natural corollary of enforcement, especially of strictures so otherworldly.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Money and bureaucracy had replaced the workings of nature and natural feelings.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Their argument is that natural selection is a mechanism, and therefore a cause, of evolution.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

My natural reaction to that is not good.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

What is the function of this "natural," ethical order?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of natural?

B1,C1,B2