human nature

noun

: the nature of humans
especially : the fundamental dispositions and traits of humans

Examples of human nature in a Sentence

You can't change human nature.
Recent Examples on the Web Cultures are indeed not universal, but human nature is universal. Wanjiru Njoya, Orange County Register, 13 Feb. 2024 Why does human nature seemingly have this one backward? Steve Booren, The Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2024 Born not from the Devil, as many would have said at the time, or from human nature, as many would say today, but from a condition that could be repaired by the books sold in his shop. Claudia Roth Pierpont, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 But realistically, how often will this happen, given human nature? Ron Lieber, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 Manning’s research examines how people make decisions, along with the biases and imperfections that are part of human nature. Denise Chow, NBC News, 10 Feb. 2024 The resulting film is short on special effects and long on philosophy, luxuriating in its nearly three-hour runtime to ponder human nature, unchanged even in the far-off era of long-distance space travel. EW.com, 13 Nov. 2023 Politics is chaotic because human nature is unpredictable. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 Most lottery winners take the prize in cash—and, assuming human nature wasn’t a variable, that does make sense. Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'human nature.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of human nature was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near human nature

Cite this Entry

“Human nature.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/human%20nature. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

human nature

noun
: the nature of human beings
especially : the ways of thinking, acting, and reacting that are common to most or all human beings or that are learned in social situations

More from Merriam-Webster on human nature

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