preternatural
preter·nat·u·ral/ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/adjective
preternatural is spelled P-R-E-T-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L: 13 letters and 4 syllables (preter·nat·u·ral). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, preternatural means “Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in preternatural?
| Letters | 13: P-R-E-T-E-R-N-A-T-U-R-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: preter·nat·u·ral |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is preternatural?
Preternatural appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce preternatural?
- UK /ˌpɹiː.təˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
- US /ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
- US /ˌprɛdərˈnætʃ(ə)rəl/
Preternatural has 4 syllables, split preter·nat·u·ral in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-preternatural.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of preternatural
- more preternatural comparative
- most preternatural superlative
- praeternatural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does preternatural mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange.
- 2
datedHaving an existence outside the natural world.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Preternatural in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | surnaturel , extraordinaire |
| Portuguese | preternatural |
| Spanish | preternatural |
| German | außernatürlich |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does preternatural come from?
From preter- + natural, after Latin prēternātūrālis/praeternātūrālis, from praeter nātūram, from praeter (“beyond”) + nātūra (“nature”); compare supernatural.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).