Link Centre Dictionary

nature

na·ture

UK/ˈneɪ̯.tʃə(ɹ)/ US/ˈneɪ̯.tʃə/ common uk

noun

1.

the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized

  • “it is the nature of fire to burn”
  • “the true nature of jealousy”
2.

a causal agent creating and controlling things in the universe

  • “the laws of nature”
  • “nature has seen to it that men are stronger than women”
3.

the natural physical world including plants and animals and landscapes etc.

  • “they tried to preserve nature as they found it”
4.

the complex of emotional and intellectual attributes that determine a person''s characteristic actions and reactions

  • “it is his nature to help others”
5.

a particular type of thing

  • “problems of this type are very difficult to solve”
  • “he”
  • “;”

Origin

From Middle English nature, natur, from Old French nature, from Latin nātūra (“birth, origin, natural constitution or quality”), future participle from perfect passive participle (g)natus (“born”), from deponent verb (g)nasci (“to be born, originate”) + future participle suffix -urus.

Phrases

  • against nature
  • all nature
  • allow nature to take her course
  • allow nature to take its course
  • animal nature
  • answer the call of nature
  • appeal to nature
  • back to nature

Related words

Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.