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preternatural

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.03 sec.
pre·ter·nat·u·ral  (prtr-nchr-l, -nchrl)
adj.
1. Out of or being beyond the normal course of nature; differing from the natural.
2. Surpassing the normal or usual; extraordinary: "Below his preternatural affability there is some acid and steel" George F. Will.
3. Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.

[Medieval Latin praeterntrlis, from Latin praeter ntrm, beyond nature : praeter, beyond; see preterit + ntra, nature; see nature.]

preter·natu·ral·ism n.
preter·natu·ral·ly adv.
preter·natu·ral·ness n.

preternatural
Adjective
beyond what is natural; supernatural [Latin praeter naturam beyond the scope of nature]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.preternatural - surpassing the ordinary or normal; "Beyond his preternatural affability there is some acid and some steel" - George Will; "his uncanny sense of direction"
extraordinary - beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable; "extraordinary authority"; "an extraordinary achievement"; "her extraordinary beauty"; "enjoyed extraordinary popularity"; "an extraordinary capacity for work"; "an extraordinary session of the legislature"
2.preternaturalpreternatural - existing outside of or not in accordance with nature; "find transcendental motives for sublunary action"-Aldous Huxley
supernatural - not existing in nature or subject to explanation according to natural laws; not physical or material; "supernatural forces and occurrences and beings"

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Nevertheless, the old sea-traditions, the immemorial credulities, popularly invested this old Manxman with preternatural powers of discernment.
At this dim inceptive stage of the day Tess seemed to Clare to exhibit a dignified largeness both of disposition and physique, an almost regnant power, possibly because he knew that at that preternatural time hardly any woman so well endowed in person as she was likely to be walking in the open air within the boundaries of his horizon; very few in all England.
He slept in a stable--generally on horseback--and so terrified a Newfoundland dog by his preternatural sagacity, that he has been known, by the mere superiority of his genius, to walk off unmolested with the dog's dinner, from before his face.
 
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