artificial meaning

artificial means 'made by humans, not natural'.

artificial :

made by humans, not natural

adjective

▪ The flowers are artificial.

▪ The flowers are made by humans.

▪ She wore an artificial smile.

▪ She had a fake smile.

paraphrasing

▪ synthetic – made by humans

▪ fake – not real

▪ man-made – created by humans

▪ imitation – a copy of something real

artificial

Pronunciation

artificial [ˌɑːr.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl]

The stress is on 'fi' and sounds like 'ar-ti-fish-al'.

Common phrases and grammar about artificial

artificial - Common meaning

adjective
made by humans, not natural

Part of Speech Changes for "artificial"

▪ artificially (adverb) – in a way that is not natural

▪ artificiality (noun) – the quality of being made by humans

Common Expressions with "artificial"

▪ artificial flavor – fake taste

▪ artificial light – man-made light

▪ artificial intelligence – computer thinking

▪ artificial color – fake color

Important examples of artificial in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC vocabulary questions, artificial often describes things not occurring naturally.

▪The product contains artificial ingredients.
▪The product has man-made ingredients.

Example of a confusing word: authentic (genuine)

▪The product contains authentic ingredients.
▪The product has genuine ingredients.
"Artificial" is an adjective meaning "made by humans" or "not natural," often used to describe ingredients, materials, or environments. In "The product contains artificial ingredients," the usage is correct as it indicates that the ingredients are not naturally occurring. "Authentic," on the other hand, means "genuine" or "real," and suggests that something is true to its origin or original state. While both words relate to the nature of ingredients, they have opposite meanings. Using "authentic" in this context would imply the ingredients are natural, which is the opposite of "artificial." Thus, "artificial" is the correct choice here.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

Artificial is used as an adjective and often modifies nouns like flavor, light, and intelligence in TOEIC questions.

▪They used artificial light for the photo.
▪They used man-made light for the photo.

artificial

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

artificial intelligence

'computer thinking', used in technology contexts.

▪Artificial intelligence is changing the world.
▪Computer thinking is changing the world.

put on an artificial front

means 'to pretend to be something one is not'.

▪He put on an artificial front to impress them.
▪He pretended to be something he is not to impress them.

Differences between similar words and artificial

artificial

,

synthetic

differences

Artificial refers to anything made by humans, while synthetic often refers to materials made chemically.

artificial
▪The dress is made of artificial silk.
▪The dress is made of man-made silk.
synthetic
▪The fabric is synthetic.
▪The fabric is chemically made.
artificial

Words with the same origin as artificial

The origin of artificial

artificial comes from the Latin 'artificialis', meaning 'made by art or skill'.

Word structure

It has the prefix art (skill), root fic (make), suffix ial (related to), and means 'related to making by skill'.

Words with the same origin

The word's root is fic (make). Words with the same root include 'fiction' (made-up story), 'efficient' (effective).

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