ˌɑ:tɪˈfɪʃəl adj. 1 produced by
human art or
effort rather than originating
naturally (an artificial lake). 2 formed in
imitation of
something natural (artificial flowers). 3
affected,
insincere (an artificial smile). øartificial insemination
the injection of
semen into the
vagina or
uterus other than by
sexual intercourse. artificial
intelligence the
application of computers to areas
normally regarded as requiring human intelligence. artificial
kidney an
apparatus that performs the functions of the human kidney (outside the body),
when one or
both organs are damaged. artificial
respiration the
restoration or initiation of
breathing by
manual or
mechanical or mouth-to-mouth methods. artificial
silk rayon. øøartificiality n. artificially adv. [ME f. OF artificiel or L artificialis (as
ARTIFICE, -AL)]