See Also: Nature(medicine)
nature(dictionary)
nature(2)(dictionary)
nature(1)(dictionary)
ill nature(dictionary)
Nature tourism(tourism)
CRIME AGAINST NATURE(law)
nature trail(dictionary)
nature reserve(dictionary)
human nature(dictionary)

nature (oh)



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1 ?plants/animals etc?
2 ?somebody's character?
3 ?qualities of something?
4 ?type?
5 in the nature of things
6 be in the nature of something
7 let nature take its course
8 back to nature
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[Date: 1200-1300; Language: French; Origin: Latin natura, from natus; NATION]
?PLANTS/ANIMALS ETC?
also Nature
[U] everything in the physical world that is not controlled by humans, such as wild plants and animals, earth and rocks, and the weather
::We grew up in the countryside, surrounded by the beauties of nature.
::nature conservation
the laws/forces of nature
::The inhabitants of the island fight a constant battle against the forces of nature.
in nature
::All these materials are found in nature.
::Disease is nature's way of keeping the population down.
?SOMEBODY'S CHARACTER?
[U and C] someone's character
::a child with a happy, easy-going nature
sb's nature
:: It's just not in Jane's nature to lie.
by nature
::She was by nature a very affectionate person.
::I tried appealing to his better nature (=his feelings of kindness) but he wouldn't agree to help us.
::Of course she's jealous - it's only human nature (=the feelings and ways of behaving that all people have) .
?QUALITIES OF SOMETHING?
[singular, U] the qualities or features that something has
nature of
::They asked a lot of questions about the nature of our democracy.
::He examined the nature of the relationship between the two communities.
exact/precise/true nature
::The exact nature of the problem is not well understood.
different/political/temporary etc in nature
::Any government funding would be temporary in nature.
::Capitalist society is by its very nature unstable.
?TYPE?
[singular] a particular kind of thing
of a personal/political/difficult etc nature
::The support being given is of a practical nature.
of this/that nature
::I never trouble myself with questions of that nature.
in the nature of things
according to the natural way things happen
::In the nature of things, there is bound to be the occasional accident.
be in the nature of sth
formal to be similar to a type of thing
::The enquiry will be more in the nature of a public meeting than a formal hearing.
let nature take its course
to allow events to happen without doing anything to change the results
::Sometimes the best cure for an illness is just to let nature take its course.
back to nature
a style of living in which people try to live simply and not use modern machines
::city workers who want to get back to nature in their holidays
-see also be/become second nature (to sb) at second 1 (10)
-see also the call of nature at call 2 (12)