adjective

preternatural

pret-er-NATCH-rul/ˌpretərˈnætʃrəl/

Beyond what is normal or natural, often in an uncanny way.

The unsupported boulder's preternatural suspension leaves a clear gap above the ground.

A massive earth-crusted boulder hangs unsupported above a grassy hollow, with a broad, unmistakable air gap and its shadow directly beneath it—an ordinary natural object behaving impossibly.

Etymology

preterLatinbeyond

+naturLatinnature

+alLatinrelating to

Literally “beyond nature,” the word describes something outside nature’s ordinary course. It can mark an extraordinary departure from what is normal, as well as something beyond ordinary natural explanation.

In context

Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art76:13

resulting from recurring natural causes rather than catastrophic preternatural ones such as a biblical flood.

British Art and Natural Forces: Decolonial Agencies

More examples

A preternatural stillness hangs over the deserted town.
He faces the emergency with preternatural calm.
The child's preternatural hearing picks up sounds nobody else notices.

Forms

preternatural

preternaturally adverb — In a way that exceeds natural limits.

Similar words

uncanny: Emphasizes unsettling strangeness without necessarily suggesting anything beyond nature.
supernatural: Implies forces beyond nature rather than merely extraordinary qualities.
extraordinary: Describes remarkable things without suggesting anything eerie or unnatural.