Artificial Natural Artificial  An  B Human C Synthetic 

ar·ti·fi·cial
 \\ˌär-tə-ˈfi-sh^əl\\ adjective1. humanly contrived often on a natural model : 

man-made

    an artificial limb
    artificial diamonds
2.
  a. having existence in legal, economic, or political theory
  b. caused or produced by a human and especially social or political agency
      an artificial price advantage
      artificial barriers of discrimination — R. C. Weaver
3. obsolete : , 
4.
  a. lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
      an artificial smile
      an artificial excitement
  b. 

imitation

, 

sham

      artificial flavor
5. based on differential morphological characters not necessarily indicative of natural relationships
    an artificial key for plant identification
• ar·ti·fi·ci·al·i·ty  \\ˌär-tə-ˌfi-shē-ˈa-lə-tē\\ noun
• ar·ti·fi·cial·ly  \\-ˈfi-sh^əl-ē\\ adverb
• ar·ti·fi·cial·ness  \\-ˈfi-shəl-nəs\\ noun

ar·ti·fi·cial
I. \|är]də|fishəl, |ȧ], ]tə-\ adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French artificial, artificiel, from Latin artificialis according to the rules of art, from artificium artifice + -alis -al
1. : contrived through human art or effort and not by natural causes detached from human agency : relating to human direction or effect in contrast to nature:
 a. : formed or established by man's efforts, not by nature
  < the people do not resort to artificial irrigation — J.G.Frazer >
 b. : produced or effected by man's skill to imitate nature : 
  < whether Milly's bloom was natural, as it appeared, or artificial, as Victoria suspected — Ellen Glasgow >
  < the use of live bait versus artificial flies in angling >
  < an artificial limb replacing the amputated leg >
  : made especially by chemical process to resemble a raw material or something derived from it : 
  < artificial silk >
  < artificial cotton >
  < artificial diamonds >
 c. : of, relating to, or produced by artificial insemination
  < artificial daughters of all breeds of cattle >
  < first artificial breeding association formed in U.S. — New England Homestead >
2. 
 a. : characteristic of human social, economic, or legal organization or structure and devoid of or contrary to actual existence in nature as detached from man
 b. : taking form from an exceptional legalistic, economic, or social situation : palpably unnatural : fabricated
  < the empire must be felt not as an artificial novelty but as the natural extension of the republican tradition — John Buchan >
  < most of the inequalities in the existing world are artificial — Bertrand Russell >
3. obsolete 
 a. : displaying skill : 
 b. : , , 
 c. : of or according to fine or practical art
4. 
 a. : not genuinely and spontaneously felt or experienced : seemingly not genuine : achieved through effort, not naturally : , , 
  < the common tone was artificial, was unreal — C.E.Norton >
  < none of that artificial shamefacedness which her husband mistook for delicacy — W.M.Thackeray >
 b. : , , conventionalized,  : not natural, spontaneous, or free
  < so affected, so fussy, so artificial — Kenneth Roberts >
  < to disregard the rules artificial of somewhat emptied rhetoric — H.O.Taylor >
 c. : , 
  < a training army which has not been equipped with guns and artillery and tanks uses artificial guns and masquerading trucks — John Steinbeck >
5. : of or relating to a bid or bidding system in contract bridge intended to inform one's partner as to the nature of the hand held but not necessarily to show strength in the suit named or willingness to undertake the contract named
Synonyms: 
  : , :  and  are often interchangeable when applied to fabrication
  < rayon is called artificial silk and is spoken of as a synthetic fabric >
   contrasts with natural
  < artificial and natural silks >
  < artificial and natural heat >
  < the miner must work by artificial light even though the sun be shining outside: still further down in the seams, he must work by artificial ventilation, too — Lewis Mumford >
   is likely to connote chemical combination or similar processes
  < synthetic flavors or dyes >
  < synthesis always means synthesis. Synthetic camphor and synthetic quinine mean just that — H.L.Fisher >
   may apply to anything existing in human but not in natural affairs
  < a corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible and existing only in contemplation of law — John Marshall >
  < now magicians or medicine men appear to constitute the oldest artificial or professional class in the evolution of society — J.G.Frazer >
  , , and  may all describe the forced, constrained, simulated, fabricated, or unnatural in matters social or personal; they all indicate a lack of the natural or spontaneous
  < the strained artificial romanticism of Kotzebue's lugubrious dramas — J.W.Krutch >
  < at her best she is artificial … one can always feel the heavily conscious performer — G.J.Nathan >
  < in the degree in which decorative effect is achieved in isolation, it becomes empty embellishment, factitious ornamentation — like sugar figures on a cake — John Dewey >
  < emotional depths which till now had seemed to him unreal, theatrical, factitious — B.A.Williams >
  < an esoteric jargon which did not even have the authentic ring of American slang. It was purely synthetic — Stanley Walker >
  < the usually synthetic obscenities of the popular joke, the remote glamor of the embraces of moving-picture stars — Lewis Mumford >
   is less common than artificial; synthetic is more recent in this use and more likely to suggest technological fabrication.
II. noun
(-s)
1. : an imitation of a natural object
 < there are many live-bait fishermen but the advocates of artificials are agreed on one thing — Eddie Finlay >
specifically : an artificial flower
2. artificials plural, chiefly Britain : artificial manure : chemical fertilizer
 < this crop grows easily on poor soil and although it responds to lime it does not like artificials — Farming >