Standard Lemma guide

paranormal

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • CMU ARPABET: P EH0 R AH0 N AO1 R M AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of events, experiences, or phenomenona, that cannot be explained by current scientific understanding or natural laws.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Paranormal phenomenona collectively: all things paranormal; things with paranormality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Our next guest has spent a 40-year career studying the paranormal, and he has some thoughts he wants to share with our audience tonight.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A person to whom paranormal powers are attributed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

not in accordance with scientific laws

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • what seemed to be paranormal manifestations

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: normal

5

adjective

Meaning 5

seemingly outside normal sensory channels

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: extrasensory

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From para- (“beyond”) + normal; compare supernatural. First use appears c. 1905.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: خارق للطبيعَة — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Catalan: paranormal — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Chinese Mandarin: 超常的 — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Czech: paranormální — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Danish: paranormal — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Finnish: paranormaali — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Finnish: yliluonnollinen — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Galician: paranormal — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Georgian: პარანორმალური (ṗaranormaluri) — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Greek: παραφυσικός (parafysikós) — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Greek: αφύσικος (afýsikos) — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Greek: υπερφυσικός (yperfysikós) — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Hungarian: paranormális — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Irish: paranormálta — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Italian: paranormale — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Māori: whaiwhaiā — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Polish: paranormalny — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Portuguese: paranormal — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Russian: паранормальный (paranormalʹnyj) — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Spanish: paranormal — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Vietnamese: siêu tâm linh — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
  • Vietnamese: huyền bí — that cannot be explained by scientific methods
Real reading context

paranormal in complete knowledge articles