natural death

American  

noun

1. death that occurs from natural causes, as disease or old age, rather than from violence or an accident.

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Etymology

Origin of natural death

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

The assistant coroner, Prof Harris, said the medical cause of death was unascertained and could not exclude unlawful killing, accident or a natural death.

From BBC • Aug. 29, 2025

“A natural death would have been less painful for us, the humans watching, as he started to flourish in the wild,” Tiana Williams-Claussen, the tribe’s wildlife department director, said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2025

It was a fairly radical innovation in its day, an era when kings and emperors generally gave up power only upon natural death or at the point of a weapon.

From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2023

Even after the change in the legislation, about 98% of the assisted deaths in 2021 were people deemed near their natural death, according to Health Canada data.

From Reuters • Jul. 15, 2023

It is often said that nature has no disdain, and therefore the natural death lacks the concept of anger, of revenge, of meanness, and that it is even sometimes—shudder—beautiful.

From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen