Use preternatural for something strikingly beyond normal human or natural limits. It is stronger and more literary than unusual, and it often hints at mystery without claiming a magical cause.
Use preternatural for something strikingly beyond normal human or natural limits. It is stronger and more literary than unusual, and it often hints at mystery without claiming a magical cause.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| She was preternatural calm during the hearing. | She was preternaturally calm during the hearing. |
| The coffee was preternatural hot this morning. | The coffee was unusually hot this morning. |
| He has a preternatural for numbers. | He has a preternatural gift for numbers. |
Use preternatural when the distinction from supernatural matters. In theology, preternatural can name powers or events above ordinary nature but below direct divine miracle, while everyday writing often treats the words more loosely.
| Incorrect | Correct |
| The theologian called angelic gifts supernatural in the strict sense. | The theologian called angelic gifts preternatural in the strict sense. |
| The preternatural appeared in the legend. | Preternatural powers appeared in the legend. |
| The preternatural miracle was performed by God alone. | The supernatural miracle was performed by God alone. |
Use preternatural when extraordinary feels too plain and supernatural would overstate the cause. It is formal, often literary, and strongest when the thing described feels almost beyond nature.
Preternatural calm needs the adjective before a noun, while preternaturally calm needs the adverb before another adjective.
From Medieval Latin praeternaturalis, based on Latin praeter naturam, meaning beyond nature. It combines praeter, beyond or more than, with natura, nature, and has been used in English since the late 1500s.