state of nature
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There are those who think it’s about man in a state of nature, what we are capable of when society is made primal around us.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Even as he appealed to the state of nature, though, Rousseau questioned whether it could ever be recovered.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
It’s a useful corrective for me to understand that the state of nature actually is the pull toward corruption and the pull toward self-dealing.
From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025
And if there’s freedom, it is the false freedom of the state of nature, in which our weapons are always pointed and our eyes are fixed upon one another.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023
After the various invasions which desolated so many parts of the Roman Empire, large portions of Gaul reverted to a state of nature.
From Legal Lore Curiosities of Law and Lawyers by Various
