Meaning & use
natural person
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Meanings
nouncountablelegallaw
A real human being, as opposed to a company or other organization treated as a legal entity.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a natural person' for one, 'natural persons' or 'natural people' for more than one.
Patterns
- a natural person
- natural persons
- as a natural person
Under the contract, only a natural person may open this type of account.
The law treats a company differently from a natural person.
Data about a natural person is protected by privacy rules.
nouncountablelegalformal
An individual human being considered as a holder of legal rights and duties.
Grammar: Often appears in formal writing about rights, contracts, and taxes.
Patterns
- the rights of a natural person
- a natural person's rights
Every natural person has the right to a fair trial.
The court said the natural person, not the state, owned the land.
Word forms
| plural | natural persons |
|---|
Common combinations
- legal person
- A company is a legal person but not a natural person.
- natural person or legal entity
- The form asks whether you are a natural person or a legal entity.
- rights of a natural person
- The charter protects the rights of a natural person.
- identify a natural person
- This information alone cannot identify a natural person.
- taxed as a natural person
- Freelancers are often taxed as a natural person.
Synonyms and how they differ
- individual
- More everyday and less technical; 'natural person' is the precise legal term in contracts and statutes.
- human being
- Plain general English; it does not carry the legal contrast with companies that 'natural person' does.
Opposites
Word family
- natural adjective
- Existing in nature; not made or caused by people.
- person noun
- A human being, or a legal entity with rights.
- personhood noun
- The state of being a person with legal rights.
Commonly confused: natural person or naturalized person?
natural person vs naturalized person
A naturalized person is someone who has gained citizenship; a natural person is simply a human being in legal terms.
Practice
In this contract, 'natural person' is used mainly to contrast with which of the following?
Choose one answer.
'Natural person' contrasts with artificial or legal persons such as companies. 'Citizen' and 'resident' describe status, not the human-versus-company distinction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “natural person”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.