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 Hamlin outlines, Kingsley had no patience for the view, prevalent at the time, that suffering arose from natural law and that humanity’s job was to passively await the grace that alone could relieve its pain. —Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025

During his conversion experience, he was deeply influenced by Catholic natural law principles. —Peter H. Schwartz, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2025

But in terms of everyday lives, part of the agenda of Christian nationalists is a redefinition of human rights and of civil rights according to their understanding of God’s laws or natural law. —John Blake, CNN, 12 Jan. 2025

Indeed, there is convincing evidence of momentum in stock and other asset returns, but this is not an unfailing natural law. —Bill Stone, Forbes, 22 Nov. 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.