artificial additive

4.3

A substance added to food to improve taste, appearance, or shelf life

noun
/ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃəl ˈædɪtɪv/

: aditivo artificial

The label clearly states that this product is free from artificial additives and is made with all-natural ingredients.

Examples

Some people may be sensitive to certain artificial additives found in soft drinks.
Is this product free from artificial additives?
Many processed foods contain artificial additives to improve their color and shelf life.
She prefers to buy products that are free from artificial additives.
Many snacks contain artificial additives that can be harmful.
Many health-conscious consumers avoid products that contain artificial additives due to concerns about their safety.
Some people believe that artificial additives in food can lead to health issues, so they prefer organic options.

Synonyms

food additive

vsartificial additive

Specialized

5 3.2

A substance added to food to make it taste better, look better, or stay good longer

is restricted to substances not naturally present in things you eat

Antonyms

natural

∞ 1.0

Not made or changed by people, coming from nature like sunlight

Surface Forms

artificial additive singular

artificial additives plural

Morphology

artificial + additive

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'artificial' (man-made or not natural) + 'additive' (a substance added), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a man-made substance added to food. This is a common, literal noun-noun combination found across languages and follows straightforward English compounding patterns, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Artificial additive comes from a simple picture of someone pouring a man-made ingredient into food: artificial means made by people and additive is something you 'add'. That's why an artificial additive is 'a man-made substance added to food to change its taste or look, or to help it stay fresh'.