natural law

noun

: a body of law or a specific principle held to be derived from nature and binding upon human society in the absence of or in addition to positive law

Examples of natural law in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As natural laws begin to break down, a team of scientists and a detective work together in the 21st century to prevent a humanity-destroying threat. —Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2024

Today, modern liberals call those rules universal values, natural laws, or human rights. —Gregory Fried, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2014

In the eyes of a transcendent God or natural law, all people -- whether Germans, Russians, or Jews -- were essentially the same. —Gregory Fried, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2014

My interest in science fiction inspired me to want to understand the physical sciences and to learn how to use natural laws and logic to make things. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

natural law

noun

: a body of law or a specific principle of law that is held to be derived from nature and binding upon human society in the absence of or in addition to positive law

Note: While natural law, based on a notion of timeless order, does not receive as much credence as it did formerly, it was an important influence on the enumeration of natural rights by Thomas Jefferson and others.