Preternatural vs Demonic - What's the difference?
preternatural | demonic |
Beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange; inexplicable; extraordinary; abnormal.
* 1882 , , The Red Man and the White Man in North America ,
* '>citation
(dated) Having an existence outside of the natural world.
* 1817 , ",
* 1860 , ,
* 1925 , ",
Pertaining to demons or evil spirits; demoniac.
Pertaining to dæmons in ancient Greek thought; concerning supernatural ‘genius’.
* 1999 , Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams , I:
As adjectives the difference between preternatural and demonic
is that preternatural is beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange; inexplicable; extraordinary; abnormal while demonic is pertaining to demons or evil spirits; demoniac.preternatural
English
(wikipedia preternatural)Alternative forms
* praeternatural * (archaic)Adjective
(en adjective)p. 152,
- Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almost preternatural skill and cunning of the Indian, [...]
- Macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event.
- Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride on a short-paced donkey, [...]
- Vansittart Smith, fixing his eyes upon the fellow's skin, was conscious of a sudden impression that there was something inhuman and preternatural about its appearance.
Usage notes
In modern secular use, refers to extraordinary but still natural phenomena, as in “preternatural' talent”. In religious and occult usage, used similarly to supernatural, meaning “outside of nature”, but usually to a lower level than (term) – it can be used synonymously (identical to supernatural), as a hypernym (a kind of supernatural), or a coordinate term (similar to supernatural, but a distinct category). For example, in Catholic theology, ' preternatural refers to properties of creatures like angels, while (term) refers to properties of God alone.Synonyms
* (beyond or different from usual) abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, uncanny * (not natural) paranormal, supernatural, unnaturalDerived terms
* preternaturallyReferences
*demonic
English
Alternative forms
* daemonic (dated), (dated)Adjective
(en adjective)- Convinced that his uncle was a warlock, he rifled through his attic, looking for demonic artifacts.
- Once he had grasped the controls, he unleashed a demonic laugh that made his hostages shudder.
- Aristotle concedes that the nature of the dream is indeed daemonic , but not divine – which might well reveal a profound meaning, if one could hit on the right translation.