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Webster 1913 Edition


Artificial

Arˊti-fi′cial

,
Adj.
[L.
artificialis
, fr.
artificium
: cf. F.
artificiel
. See
Artifice
.]
1.
Made or contrived by art; produced or modified by human skill and labor, in opposition to natural;
as,
artificial
heat or light, gems, salts, minerals, fountains, flowers
.
Artificial
strife
Lives in these touches, livelier than life.
Shakespeare
2.
Feigned; fictitious; assumed; affected; not genuine.
Artificial tears.”
Shak.
3.
Artful; cunning; crafty.
[Obs.]
Shak.
4.
Cultivated; not indigenous; not of spontaneous growth;
as,
artificial
grasses
.
Gibbon.
Artificial arguments
(Rhet.)
,
arguments invented by the speaker, in distinction from laws, authorities, and the like, which are called inartificial arguments or proofs.
Johnson.
Artificial classification
(Science)
,
an arrangement based on superficial characters, and not expressing the true natural relations species; as, “the artificial system” in botany, which is the same as the Linnæan system.
Artificial horizon
.
See under
Horizon
.
Artificial light
,
any light other than that which proceeds from the heavenly bodies.
Artificial lines
,
lines on a sector or scale, so contrived as to represent the logarithmic sines and tangents, which, by the help of the line of numbers, solve, with tolerable exactness, questions in trigonometry, navigation, etc.
Artificial numbers
,
logarithms.
Artificial person
(Law)
.
See under
Person
.
Artificial sines
,
tangents
, etc.
,
the same as logarithms of the natural sines, tangents, etc.
Hutton.

Webster 1828 Edition


Artificial

ARTIFI'CIAL

, a.
1.
Made or contrived by art, or by human skill and labor, in opposition to natural; as artificial heat or light; an artificial magnet.
2.
Feigned, fictitious; not genuine or natural; as artificial tears.
3.
Contrived with skill or art.
4.
Cultivated; not indigenous; not being of spontaneous growth; as artificial grasses.
Artificial arguments, in rhetoric, are arguments invented by the speaker, in distinction from laws, authorities and the like, which are called inartificial arguments of proofs.
Artificial lines, on a sector or scale, are lines so contrived as to represent the logarithmic sines and tangents, which, by the help of the line of numbers, solve, with tolerable exactness, questions in trigonometry, navigation, &c.
Artificial numbers, the same with logarithms.

Definition 2024


artificial

artificial

English

Adjective

artificial (comparative more artificial, superlative most artificial)

  1. Man-made; of artifice.
    • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
      An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine. But they are nothing like as efficient, and can cause bleeding, clotting and infection—not to mention inconvenience for patients, who typically need to be hooked up to one three times a week for hours at a time.
    The flowers were artificial, and he thought them rather tacky.
  2. False, misleading.
    Her manner was somewhat artificial.
  3. Unnatural.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also


Aragonese

Adjective

artificial (plural artificials)

  1. artificial

Derived terms


Asturian

Etymology

From Latin artificiālis.

Adjective

artificial (epicene, plural artificiales)

  1. artificial

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin artificiālis.

Adjective

artificial m, f (masculine and feminine plural artificials)

  1. artificial

Derived terms


Galician

Etymology

From Latin artificiālis.

Adjective

artificial m, f (plural artificiais)

  1. artificial

Derived terms


Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin artificiālis.

Pronunciation

  • (Portugal) IPA(key): /ɐɾtifiˈsjaɫ/
  • Hyphenation: ar‧ti‧fi‧ci‧al

Adjective

artificial m, f (plural artificiais, comparable)

  1. artificial

Derived terms


Spanish

Adjective

artificial m, f (plural artificiales)

  1. artificial

Derived terms

Related terms