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nature

nature

581 1.0
The power in the world believed to control living things and events
  • noun
  • /ˈneɪtʃər/
  • Literature
: naturaleza
  • The fundamental rule of nature is cooperation.
  • laws of nature
  • force of nature
  • balance of nature

You say, yeah, yeah, that's just nature, that's not God.

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Examples

  • The force of nature can be both beautiful and destructive during a storm.

  • Nature will soon grant him his wish.

  • Change is the nature of the world, the nature of time.

  • But first you have to understand the very nature of progress.

  • Once, against all laws of nature, snow had fallen in the Bay Area.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The force of nature will conquer all.

  • One can never foretell the nature of a gift that will make one happy.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • What is the nature of your friendship with Ms. Holly Pulchik?

  • Comparisons relate to the development of insights about the nature of language and culture.

    Academic text (1999)
  • A major disease rampant nearby underscores the potentially fleeting nature of the opportunity to implement proactive conservation actions.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

force of nature
vsnature
25 6.4

A person or thing with great, unstoppable power like a storm

is an impersonal principle believed to control the whole world
natural order
vsnature
20 5.6

The regular way the physical world follows rules not made by people

is a personified governing principle rather than an impersonal law system

Idioms

85 4.1

Someone or something naturally acts that way because of their basic character

second nature
  • Informal
17 3.5

A habit or skill that feels automatic after a lot of practice

nature calls
  • Informal
8 8.8

A polite, funny way to say you need to go to the toilet

Basic, often unpleasant features of a situation or person that are hard to change

2 8.2

To need to go to the toilet

Compounds

111 3.0

The usual ways people think, feel, and behave

law of nature
  • Specialized
30 3.9

A basic rule scientists find about how the world works

A person or thing with great, unstoppable power like a storm

A kinder, more honest part of a person that makes them treat others well

6 2.5

A friendly, helpful attitude that makes a person help others

state of nature
  • Specialized
4 8.1

A natural wild condition before people build towns or make rules

3 5.0

Strong natural urges and physical feelings in a person that come from the body not the mind

2 5.8

A need to go to the toilet to pee or poo

1 3.1

A school activity where children look at plants and animals in nature

A habit of often changing one's mind or feelings without warning

Religious belief that people pray to natural things like rivers and the sun

1 7.7

A habit of being angry and unpleasant to others

Many strict rules and levels in an organization that slow decisions

Made in the same predictable way, like many films and songs

nature faker
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who pretends to love nature to look good to others

malignant nature
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A very harmful and cruel way of being that hurts other people

debt of nature
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A certain fact that every living person must die

9.9

A quality that lets someone adapt well to different roles and situations

barbigerous nature
  • Specialized
9.9

Having many stiff hairs

fretty nature
  • Archaic
9.9

A tendency to feel nervous and worry about small things

9.3

A person who talks a lot in a loud or rude way

8.9

A strong greedy wish to take more than is fair

The qualities related to planets or to ideas about planets

A shady quality that shelters from the sun because of trees or plants

How Powerful

deity
60 7.4
nature
  • Literature
581 1.0
force
  • Specialized
∞ 2.3
influence
783 2.3

Surface Forms

nature singular
natures plural

Etymology

Nature comes from the Latin natura, which meant 'birth' and 'the way things happen'. People used it to talk about the world's own course or power, so 'nature' can mean the force or spirit that seems to control how things grow and change.