artificially

artificially — adverb

1. by adding a chemical, factory-made ingredient, or industrial step instead of rel

1.adverbB2
Definition

by adding a chemical, factory-made ingredient, or industrial step instead of relying on natural materials.

Example

These cherry sweets are artificially flavoured with a syrup made in a lab.

artificially flavoured + collocation with food product

Mrs. Lin avoids drinks that are artificially sweetened because of her diabetes.

artificially sweetened (food/drink collocation)

Common collocations
  • artificially flavoured
  • artificially sweetened
  • artificially coloured
  • artificially produced
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • naturally

    made or grown without industrial steps

Grammar Patterns

artificially + past participle (flavoured, sweetened, coloured)

Usage Note

Most often used in the passive with food, drink, and material vocabulary: 'artificially flavoured/sweetened/coloured/produced'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense focuses on a man-made substance replacing a natural one, while sense 2 focuses on a process or condition deliberately created by people.

Common Mistakes

The juice tastes artificially.
The juice tastes artificial.
'artificially' modifies a verb or past participle, not a sensory verb describing a state.

2. as the result of a deliberate human plan or action, rather than because somethin

2.adverbB2
Definition

as the result of a deliberate human plan or action, rather than because something happened on its own.

Example

The lake was artificially created by the government to supply water to nearby farms.

artificially created (typical pattern for engineered systems)

Bread prices have been kept artificially low through state subsidies for decades.

kept artificially + adjective (prices, rates)

Common collocations
  • artificially created
  • artificially low
  • artificially high
  • artificially raised
  • artificially maintained
Synonyms
  • deliberately

    stresses intent without the 'unnatural' nuance

  • manually

    by hand or human control rather than automatically

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

artificially + past participle (created, raised, lowered, maintained)

Usage Note

Frequently collocates with economic and statistical objects ('artificially low/high prices, rates, figures') and with engineered or biological processes ('artificially created/raised/maintained'). Often carries a hint that the natural state was changed for someone's benefit.

Common Mistakes

The price went artificially up.
The price was artificially raised.
use 'artificially' with a passive past participle, not as a free modifier of an intransitive verb.

3. with a forced or pretended manner, so the feeling shown is not what the person r

3.adverbC1
Definition

with a forced or pretended manner, so the feeling shown is not what the person really feels inside.

Example

The host laughed artificially at every joke the guest told on stage.

artificially + verb of expression (laugh, smile)

Sofia greeted her ex-boyfriend artificially, with a tight smile and a stiff hug.

Common collocations
  • laugh artificially
  • smile artificially
  • artificially cheerful
  • artificially polite
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

artificially + adjective/participle describing manner (cheerful, polite, smile)

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 2: here the lack of naturalness is in a person's manner or feelings, not in a process or substance. Often modifies adjectives of mood (cheerful, polite, calm) or verbs of expression (laugh, smile, speak).

Common Mistakes

She is an artificially person.
She seems artificial / She behaves artificially.
'artificially' is the adverb form; use 'artificial' before a noun.

Word family

  • artificial
    adjectiveB1
  • artificiality
    nounC1
  • artifice
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/2

All four adverbs describe an action that is not purely natural, but they emphasise different things. 'Artificially' stresses that the result was caused by people rather than by nature, often with the implication that the natural state was changed (artificially low prices, an artificially created lake). 'Synthetically' is narrower and more technical: it describes something made through a chemical process in a lab or factory (synthetically produced rubber). 'Deliberately' focuses on intent, not on whether the result is natural — you can deliberately walk slowly, but not artificially walk slowly without sounding strange. 'Manually' contrasts with automatic systems and means by hand or by direct human control (manually adjusted, manually operated). For example: prices are kept artificially low (by policy), rubber can be made synthetically (in a factory), a switch is flipped manually (not by a sensor), and a delay can be deliberately added (on purpose).

artificially ↗syntheticallydeliberately ↗manually

Common collocations

Phrases

  • artificially flavoured
  • artificially sweetened
  • artificially coloured
  • artificially low
  • artificially high
  • artificially created
  • artificially produced
  • artificially maintained

Prepositions

  • artificially by (means of)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

The adverb 'artificially' is built from the adjective 'artificial' plus the adverb-forming suffix '-ly'. 'Artificial' came into English from Old French in the late 14th century and traces back to Latin 'artificialis', meaning 'belonging to art or skill', from 'artificium' ('a piece of work, craft') — itself from 'ars' (art) plus 'facere' (to make). The earliest English uses described things made by human skill rather than nature; the negative shade of 'fake' or 'not sincere' grew later, especially from the 17th century onwards.