nature

1 the set of qualities that makes a person, a group of people, or a thing different from others <it was the violent nature of his stories that got them banned from school libraries> <her nature was such that lying was never an option for her> <the stoic nature of these people enables them to endure one calamity after another> Synonyms character, clay, colors, complexion, constitution, genius, personality, self, tone Related Words distinctiveness, distinctness, individuality, singularity, uniqueness; attribute, characteristic, earmark, essentiality, feature, flavor, hallmark, mark, point, property, savor (also savour), stamp, trait; disposition, grain, sort, temper, temperament; composition, makeup; essence, essentiality, interior, interiority, soul, spirit; metal, stuff, substance; habit, way

2 that part of the physical world that is removed from human habitation <needed to get out of the office and back to nature in order to clear his head> Synonyms open, open air, outdoors, out-of-doors, wild, wilderness Related Words backwoods, bush, country, frontier, hinterland, sticks, up-country; outside, without; badland, barren, desert, waste, wasteland

3 a number of persons or things that are grouped together because they have something in common <group together anything round: buttons, lids, coins, and other things of that nature> Synonyms breed, class, description, feather, genre, ilk, kidney, kind, like, manner, sort, order, species, strain, stripe, type, varietyRelated Words model; sample, specimen; bracket, bunch, category, division, family, grade, group, grouping, lot, persuasion, rank(s), set, suite

4 one's characteristic attitude or mood <a boy of a quiet and shy nature> Synonyms grain, disposition, temper, temperamentRelated Words cheer, frame, habit, humor, inclination, mode, spirit; angle, attitude, mind-set, outlook, perspective, slant, standpoint, viewpoint; emotion, feeling, heart, passion, sentiment, spirit; strain; belief, conviction, judgment (or judgement), mind, notion, opinion, persuasion, view; expression, tone, vein; character, identity, individuality, makeup, mettle, personality, selfhood, self-identity, setup; responsiveness, sensibility, sensitiveness, sensitivity

5 the quality or qualities that make a thing what it is <some artists maintain that color, light, and shadow are the very nature of painting> Synonyms being, essentiality, essence, quiddity, quintessence, soul, stuff, substanceRelated Words heart, spirit; alpha and omega, center, core, keynote, marrow, pith, seat; embodiment, epitome, incarnation, manifestation, personification; aspect, attribute, feature, property; gist, kernel, nub

6 the whole body of things observed or assumed <the belief that all of nature is controlled by an unseen Supreme Being> Synonyms cosmos, creation, macrocosm, universe, worldRelated Words existence, realityNear Antonyms nothingness, void