naturally

The word “naturally” means in a way that happens without artificial help or intervention. In plain terms, either "without artificial help" or, used at the start of a sentence, "of course, obviously.".

“Naturally” is pronounced NACH-ruh-lee (/ˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə.)ɹə.li/ in IPA).

Here is “naturally” used in a sentence: “Her curly hair grows that way naturally, without any styling.”

Words with a similar meaning to “naturally” include innately and intrinsically.

“Naturally” is an adverb.

“Naturally” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Naturally” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: in a way that happens without artificial help or intervention.

Naturally describes something that happens on its own, through nature, without human interference — hair that curls naturally, or a lake formed naturally. Artificially is the opposite: brought about by human intervention or man-made means, such as artificially coloured food. One points to nature taking its course, the other to deliberate human action.

It can. Besides meaning 'without artificial help', naturally is often used to mean 'as you would expect' or 'of course', as in 'Naturally, she was delighted.' A third sense describes acting in a relaxed, unforced way — 'try to smile naturally'. The intended meaning is usually clear from the surrounding sentence.

The wound healed naturally without medicine. Her hair is naturally curly. The pond formed naturally from rainfall. In each case, naturally shows that something occurred through nature or on its own, with no artificial treatment, styling, or intervention involved.

The main opposite is artificially, meaning by human-made means. Depending on the sense, other contrasts include synthetically, deliberately, or forcibly. When naturally describes a relaxed manner, its opposite is awkwardly, stiffly, or self-consciously. Which one fits depends on whether you mean 'not man-made' or 'not forced'.