# artificial

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.l̩/ · frequency rank #4,737

## Definitions
1. Man-made; made by humans; of artifice.
2. Insincere; fake, forced, or feigned.
3. Not natural or normal: imposed arbitrarily or without regard to the specifics or normal circumstances of a person, a situation, etc.
4. Based on characteristics useful for identification, without regard for the formal differences used in classification.
5. Conveying some meaning other than the actual contents of one's hand.

## Etymology
From Middle English artificial (“man-made”) via Old French (modern French artificiel), from Latin artificiālis from artificium (“skill”), from artifex, from ars (“skill”), and -fex, from facere (“to make”). Displaced native Old English cræftlīċ.

## Easily confused with
- **artificially** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/artificial-vs-artificially)

## Common misspellings (14)
`aritficial`, `arrtificial`, `artfiicial`, `artifciial`, `artifficial`, `artificail`, `artificcial`, `artificiall`, `artificila`, `artifiical`, `artiifcial`, `arttificial`, `atrificial`, `ratificial`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/artificial