metaphysical
Add the Greek prefix "meta-" (beyond) to the base "physical" (nature), and you get metaphysical — a near synonym to the Latinate word "supernatural." Both concern phenomena that are outside everyday experience or knowledge.
The adjective metaphysical entered the English language through Aristotle, whose Metaphysics is a collection of treatises that follows his Physics. Physics concerned natural philosophy, what we would call "science" today, while Metaphysics dealt with more abstract questions about the reality beyond what we perceive with our senses. Look at a physical object, say an apple. At what exact point did that apple come into existence? If you eat it, does it cease to exist, or does it still exist but in a changed way? These are metaphysical questions.
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pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics“metaphysical philosophy”
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highly abstract and overly theoretical“metaphysical reasoning”synonyms:theoretic, theoreticalconcerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations
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without material form or substance“metaphysical forces”synonyms:supernaturalnot existing in nature or subject to explanation according to natural laws; not physical or material
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Vocabulary lists containing metaphysical
Percy Jackson's normal life is turned upside down when gods from Greek mythology accuse him of stealing a supernatural weapon. Percy must find the real thief — and figure out his connection to the gods.
Jack and Algernon — two bachelors in 19th-century England — use false identities to get what they want — and get into trouble — in this comedy by Oscar Wilde.