1. the entirety of physical reality.

2. the phenomena of the natural world, including plants, nonhuman animals, and physical features, as opposed to human beings and their creations.

3. the fundamental or inherent qualities of something. See essence.

4. the innate, presumably genetically determined, characteristics and behaviors of an individual. In psychology, the characteristics most often and traditionally associated with nature are temperament, body type, and personality. Compare nurture. —natural adj.