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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

nature.

The way things are, the totality of all things in the physical universe and their order, especially the physical world in contrast to spiritual realms and flora and fauna as distinct from human conventions, art, and technology.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈneɪ̯.tʃə(ɹ)//ˈneɪ̯.tʃə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈneɪ̯.t͡ʃəɹ/General-American/ˈnɛː.tʃɐ/Northern-England
  1. The way things are, the totality of all things in the physical universe and their order, especially the physical world in contrast to spiritual realms and flora and fauna as distinct from human conventions, art, and technology.

    capitalized · often · uncountable
    Nature doesn't lie.
    The laws of nature are written in the language of mathematics.
  2. The particular way someone or something is, especially The essential or innate characteristics of a person or thing which will always tend to manifest, especially in contrast to specific contexts, reason, religious duty, upbringing, and personal pretense or effort.

    countable · uncountable
    It's not in my nature to steal.
    You can't help feeling that way. It's human nature.
  3. The particular way someone or something is, especially The distinguishing characteristic of a person or thing, understood as its general class, sort, type, etc.

    countable · uncountable
    What was the nature of your relationship with the deceased?
    The best medium might be petroleum, liquified gas, or something of that nature.
  4. The particular way someone or something is, especially Synonym of caliber: the class of a gun.

    UK · countable · obsolete · uncountable
  5. The vital functions or strength of someone or something, especially (now dialect) as requiring nourishment or careful maintenance or (medicine) as a force of regeneration without special treatment.

    countable · uncountable
  6. A requirement or powerful impulse of the body's physical form, especially The need to urinate and defecate.

    countable · uncountable
    I hear the call of nature.
  7. A requirement or powerful impulse of the body's physical form, especially Sexual desire.

    countable · uncountable
  8. A requirement or powerful impulse of the body's physical form, especially Spontaneous love, affection, or reverence, especially between parent and child.

    countable · uncountable
  9. A product of the body's physical form, especially semen and vaginal fluids, menstrual fluid, and (obsolete) feces.

    archaic · countable · uncountable
  10. A part of the body's physical form, especially (obsolete) the female genitalia.

    archaic · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁-sḱé-ti Proto-Italic *gnāskōrder. Latin nāscor Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh₂? Latin -tūra Latin nātūralbor. Old French naturebor. Middle English nature English nature 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. Displaced native Middle English erd (“character, nature, disposition”) from Old English eard (compare German Art (“nature, character, kind, type”)); and Middle English kynde (“character, disposition, nature”) from Old English ġecynd. More at kind. Also displaced native Old English hād (“nature, manner”).

verb/ˈneɪ̯.tʃə(ɹ)//ˈneɪ̯.tʃə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈneɪ̯.t͡ʃəɹ/General-American/ˈnɛː.tʃɐ/Northern-England
  1. To endow with natural qualities.

    obsolete · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁-sḱé-ti Proto-Italic *gnāskōrder. Latin nāscor Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh₂? Latin -tūra Latin nātūralbor. Old French naturebor. Middle English nature English nature 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. Displaced native Middle English erd (“character, nature, disposition”) from Old English eard (compare German Art (“nature, character, kind, type”)); and Middle English kynde (“character, disposition, nature”) from Old English ġecynd. More at kind. Also displaced native Old English hād (“nature, manner”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.