onaturliga

Onaturliga is a Swedish adjective describing something not natural or contrary to the natural world. It is used for events, processes, or objects that cannot be explained by known natural laws or mechanisms with current knowledge. The term is broader than naturlig and is often linked to ideas of the supernatural or the uncanny, though it can also appear in everyday speech to express surprise at unlikely coincidences or unusual behavior.

In everyday language and folklore, onaturliga phenomena include miracles, ghosts, curses, or other experiences attributed to forces beyond natural explanation. In journalism and literature, the term can be used to evoke mystery or wonder without making a formal claim about supernatural causes. The usage thus tends to be contextual and suggestive rather than constitutive of a scientific judgment.

In formal science and philosophy, onaturliga is typically not used as a technical category. Scientists prefer naturalistic explanations for observed phenomena and typically reserve the label of “unexplained” for cases awaiting further investigation within natural laws. Philosophers may discuss related questions about naturalism, miracles, causation, and the limits of human knowledge, distinguishing carefully between empirical inquiry and claims of the supernatural.

Etymology and related terms: onaturliga is formed from natur- meaning nature with the negating prefix o-, paralleling motsvarande ord in other Germanic languages. Related Swedish terms include naturlig (natural) and övernaturlig (supernatural), which helps situate onaturliga within a spectrum of explanations from natural to supernatural.