artefactual
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Relating to or being an artifact: Pertaining to objects made or modified by human workmanship, as opposed to those occurring naturally.
- Resulting from the process of observation or investigation: Describing a feature, effect, or result that is introduced by the tools, methods, or conditions of the research process itself, rather than being a natural property of the subject being studied.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- The museum's exhibit focused on the artefactual history of the region, displaying tools and pottery.
- The strange pattern on the image was not a real feature of the cell but an artefactual result of the staining technique.
Advanced Usage
In scientific research: Used to describe data or observations that are byproducts of the experimental method.
- The apparent correlation in the data was deemed artefactual, arising from measurement error rather than a true biological relationship.
In archaeology and museology: Used to categorize and discuss objects of human creation.
- The collection's artefactual value lies in its ability to tell the story of daily life in the 18th century.
Variants and Related Words
Artifact (noun): An object made by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest. Also, a spurious result or effect in scientific data.
- The archaeologist carefully brushed dirt from the ancient artifact.
- The spike in the graph was an artifact of the software glitch.
Artifactual (adjective): An alternative spelling, most commonly used in American English.
- The artifactual evidence was crucial to the theory.
Synonyms
- Manufactured: Made or produced by human beings, especially on a large scale using machinery.
- Synthetic: Made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product; not genuine.
- Procedural: Relating to an established or official way of doing something (specifically in the context of research artifacts).
Antonyms
- Natural: Existing in or derived from nature; not made or caused by humankind.
- Genuine: Truly what something is said to be; authentic.
Adjective
- of or relating to artifacts