Table of Contents
Definition of Supernatural
(adjective) Beyond the natural or unexplainable by ordinary terms.
Example of Supernatural
- ghosts
Supernatural Pronunciation
Syllabification: su·per·nat·u·ral
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /soo-puhr-nAch-uhr-ruhl/
- British English – /syoo-puh-nAch-uh-ruhl/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈˌsupərˈnætʃ(ə)rəl/
- British English – /ˌsuːpəˈnatʃ(ə)rəl/
Related Quotations
- “Additionally, in animism, as with mana, supernatural power is often harnessed through rituals that compel a spirit to act in a desired way” (Hughes and Kroehler 2011:350).
- “Violation of taboos is punishable by the group or even, according to certain belief system, by a supernatural force. The incest taboo which prohibits sexual or marital relations between certain categories of kin, is an example of a nearly universal taboo” (Kendall 2006:56).
Additional Information
Related Terms
References
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Kendall, Diana. 2006. Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Works Consulted
Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.
Encyclopædia Britannica. (N.d.) Britannica Digital Learning. (https://britannicalearn.com/).
Farlex. (N.d.) TheFreeDictionary.com: Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Farlex. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/).
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Supernatural
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “supernatural.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/supernatural/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
supernatural. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/supernatural/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “supernatural.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/supernatural/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“supernatural.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 16 Jan. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/supernatural/>.