nature
the material world, especially as surrounding humankind and existing independently of human activities.
the natural world as it exists without human beings or civilization: In nature, wild dogs hunt in packs.
the elements of the natural world, as mountains, trees, animals, or rivers: The abandoned power plant was reclaimed by nature, covered in overgrowth and home to feral animals.
natural scenery: Tourists at the resort are surrounded by nature.
the universe, with all its phenomena: Conservation of energy is a universal law of nature.
the sum total of the forces at work throughout the universe.
reality, as distinguished from any effect of art: a portrait true to nature.
the particular combination of qualities belonging to a person, animal, thing, or class by birth, origin, or constitution; native or inherent character: human nature.
the instincts or inherent tendencies directing conduct: a man of good nature.
character, kind, or sort: two books of the same nature.
characteristic disposition; temperament: a self-willed nature;an evil nature.
the original, natural, uncivilized condition of humankind.
the biological functions or the urges to satisfy their requirements.
a primitive, wild condition; an uncultivated state.
a simple, uncluttered mode of life without the conveniences or distractions of civilization: a return to nature.
(initial capital letter, italics) a prose work (1836), by Ralph Waldo Emerson, expounding transcendentalism.
Theology. the moral state as unaffected by grace.
Idioms about nature
Origin of nature
1Other words from nature
- na·ture·like, adjective
- an·ti·na·ture, adjective, noun
Words Nearby nature
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nature in a sentence
That’s the nature of business, and in this author’s opinion, it is precisely why the best solution is for Platforms to cease the obfuscation of data for the sake of more automated campaign types that may or may not work as well for all advertisers.
This decade’s most important marketing question: What data rights do advertisers possess? | Kirk Williams | September 17, 2020 | Search Engine Land“People are trying to figure out how we can work with nature to improve the health of these wetlands,” Narayan says.
Soggy coastal soils? Here’s why ecologists love them | Alison Pearce Stevens | September 17, 2020 | Science News For StudentsI like his account so much that I wish its central idea didn’t conflict with pretty much everything that I’ve written about the nature of belief over the past 25 years.
Believing in Monsters: David Livingstone Smith on the Subhuman - Facts So Romantic | Eric Schwitzgebel | September 11, 2020 | NautilusMy proposal is that the inherently directed nature of Reality entails that it’s objectively good for Reality when it manifests as pleasure and objectively bad for Reality when it manifests as pain.
The Universe Knows Right from Wrong - Issue 89: The Dark Side | Philip Goff | September 9, 2020 | NautilusTruth be told, given the precarious nature of Antetokounmpo’s future — he can become an unrestricted free agent after next season — just about everything should be on the table.
The Bucks Played It Safe And Made The Wrong Kind Of History | Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com) | September 9, 2020 | FiveThirtyEight
The “nature of the crime” was too serious to release him, they said.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside | Justin Rohrlich | January 3, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThat explanation is believable…but increasingly less so when you hear Jay talk about the nature of his relationship with Adnan.
The Deal With Serial’s Jay? He’s Pissed Off, Mucks Up Our Timeline | Emily Shire | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHowever, it appears it is this very open nature that the Lizard Squad is attempting to exploit.
Science imitates nature as researchers dream up robotic dogs, cheetahs, sharks and even cockroaches.
His constant worship of his wife stands in stark contrast to scandals of the domestic nature in other sports.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player | William O’Connor | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis is one of the most striking manifestations of the better side of child-nature and deserves a chapter to itself.
Children's Ways | James SullyOf course the expression of this value is modified and characterized by the nature of the thing spoken of.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge SouthwickThe pictures of flowers which this artist paints prove her to be a devoted lover of nature.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementSo it commands the other sciences in all the wonderful and hidden things of nature and art (pp. 510-511).
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II) | Henry Osborn TaylorIt was Carmena, every nerve of her loyal nature on the alert to baffle this pursuer of Alessandro and Ramona.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for nature
/ (ˈneɪtʃə) /
the fundamental qualities of a person or thing; identity or essential character
(often capital, esp when personified) the whole system of the existence, arrangement, forces, and events of all physical life that are not controlled by man
all natural phenomena and plant and animal life, as distinct from man and his creations
a wild primitive state untouched by man or civilization
natural unspoilt scenery or countryside
disposition or temperament
tendencies, desires, or instincts governing behaviour
the normal biological needs or urges of the body
sort; kind; character
the real appearance of a person or thing: a painting very true to nature
accepted standards of basic morality or behaviour
biology the complement of genetic material that partly determines the structure of an organism; genotype: Compare nurture (def. 3)
Irish sympathy and fondness for one's own people or native place: she is full of nature
against nature unnatural or immoral
by nature essentially or innately
call of nature informal, euphemistic, or jocular the need to urinate or defecate
from nature using natural models in drawing, painting, etc
in the nature of or of the nature of essentially the same as; by way of
Origin of nature
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for nature
[ nā′chər ]
The world and its naturally occurring phenomena, together with all of the physical laws that govern them.
Living organisms and their environments.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with nature
see call of nature; good nature; second nature.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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