a leopard does not change its spots

A form of a leopard cannot change its spots — One cannot change one's own nature.

Meanings

proverb
  1. alternativeAlternative form of a leopard cannot change its spots.
    1 more example

    My sother has been loved and respected since the day she was born. It is easy to see why she found it so damnably difficult to risk losing her mother's love. It is easy to see also why I knew she would not lose her mother's love. A leopard doesn't change its spots. If her mother was indeed the woman she had always been, then she would act accordingly no matter what.

    1981 August 29, Nancy Walker, “Sother Says It”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 7, page 12
Cite this entry
APA

a leopard does not change its spots. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20leopard%20does%20not%20change%20its%20spots

MLA

“a leopard does not change its spots.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20leopard%20does%20not%20change%20its%20spots. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a leopard does not change its spots,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20leopard%20does%20not%20change%20its%20spots.

Source: a leopard does not change its spots on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.