Artificially means something is made or produced by humans rather than occurring naturally. When orange juice is artificially flavored, chemists created the taste in a laboratory instead of squeezing real oranges. When a lake is created artificially, engineers built a dam and filled it with water, rather than nature forming it over thousands of years.

An artificial sweetener replaces natural sugar. Artificial intelligence refers to computer programs that simulate human thinking. Artificial flowers look real but are made of fabric or plastic.

Something done artificially can seem forced or fake compared to the natural version. If someone laughs artificially at a joke they don't find funny, their laughter sounds strained and unconvincing. When a movie scene looks artificially lit, the lighting seems too bright or too perfect compared to natural sunlight.

The word doesn't always carry a negative meaning, though. Artificially created medicines save millions of lives. Buildings require artificially controlled temperatures to stay comfortable. Still, when something happens or exists artificially, it means humans intervened to make it that way, rather than it developing on its own.