force of nature
13
6.4
- noun
- /fɔrs əv ˈneɪtʃər/
:
fuerza de la naturaleza
- Everyone agreed that the new director was a force of nature, effortlessly inspiring the entire team.
You just met met Jim and he was a force of nature and you could just feel the talent.
- You just met met Jim and he was a force of nature and you could just feel the talent.
- Yeah, I found one that I'm an unstoppable force of nature.
- But they might interpret that as being dragged together through a force of nature that they don't quite understand.
- And before that though, we have a force of nature in and of his self.
- I knew him from afar as this kind of force of nature that that Rell had worked for.
Examples
-
The force of nature will conquer all.
-
Julie Tyrell, you are an unstoppable force of nature.
Fiction book (1998) -
You just met met Jim and he was a force of nature and you could just feel the talent.
-
A force of nature, like time itself.
-
Two such forces of nature on a small island: of course they would meet.
Fiction book (1998) -
She was a force of nature.
-
He is a force of nature.
-
When it comes to Rosie, I am a force of nature.
Fiction book (2000) -
Nuala was a force of nature.
Fiction book (1999) -
A force of nature, the midwife called him, when he came howling into this world four years ago.
Synonyms
909
3.8
A person or group with power to make things happen
17
9.1
A very large powerful force that cannot be stopped, for example a company or government
17
9.3
A very large and powerful thing, for example a company or ship
3
5.4
A force that crushes anything in its path
2
7.4
A very large and powerful person or company that beats others easily
Antonyms
How Powerful
17
9.1
13
6.4
57
4.5
15
3.2
51
3.5
5
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines 'force' (power/influence) and 'nature' (the natural world), so its meaning as someone or something with unstoppable, natural power is a clear metaphorical extension of the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words can probably infer the general idea ('power like nature') but the idiomatic nuance of describing a person as an unstoppable force requires figurative mapping, so it is not fully compositional.
Etymology
Force of nature comes from the image of very strong things in nature, like storms or floods, where force means great power and nature means the natural world. So calling a person a force of nature means they seem 'unstoppable' and have strong 'influence'.