made by human skill; produced by humans ( opposed to natural )

artificial flowers.

imitation; simulated; sham

artificial vanilla flavoring.

lacking naturalness or spontaneity; forced; contrived; feigned

an artificial smile.

full of affectation; affected; stilted

artificial manners; artificial speech.

made without regard to the particular needs of a situation, person, etc.; imposed arbitrarily; unnatural

artificial rules for dormitory residents.

Biology . based on arbitrary, superficial characteristics rather than natural, organic relationships

an artificial system of classification.

Jewelry . manufactured to resemble a natural gem, in chemical composition or appearance. Compare assembled , imitation ( def. 11 ) , synthetic ( def. 6 ) .