Standard Lemma guide

spiritual

adj · noun · 14 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈspɪɹɪtʃʊəl/
  • UK: /ˈspɪɹɪtjʊəl/
  • US: /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/
  • US: /ˈspɪɹɪ̈t͡ʃul̩/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S P IH1 R IH0 CH UW2 AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Respect towards ancestors is an essential part of Thai spiritual practice.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred, pure; (Christianity, specifically) inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Consisting of spirit; not material; incorporeal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a spiritual substance or being

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind; mental; intellectual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things; ecclesiastical.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • the spiritual functions of the clergy; lords spiritual and temporal; a spiritual corporation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A Christian religious song, especially one in an African-American style, or a similar non-religious song.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

Any spiritual function, office, or affair.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A member of a branch of the Franciscan order that advocated simple dress and renounced the owning of property.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Topics: Christianity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

lacking material body or form or substance-Lewis Mumford

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • spiritual beings
  • the vital transcendental soul belonging to the spiritual realm

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective satellite

Meaning 11

resembling or characteristic of a phantom

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a ghostly face at the window
  • a phantasmal presence in the room
  • spectral emanations
  • spiritual tappings at a seance

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: apparitional, ghostlike, ghostly, phantasmal, spectral

Antonyms: none provided

12

adjective satellite

Meaning 12

concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • religious texts
  • a member of a religious order
  • lords temporal and spiritual
  • spiritual leaders
  • spiritual songs

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: religious

Antonyms: none provided

13

adjective satellite

Meaning 13

concerned with or affecting the spirit or soul

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a spiritual approach to life
  • spiritual fulfillment
  • spiritual values
  • unearthly love

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unearthly

Antonyms: none provided

14

noun

Meaning 14

a kind of religious song originated by Blacks in the southern United States

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Negro spiritual

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: religious song

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys-der.? Latin spīrō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin spīritus Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Late Latin spīrituālisder. Old French spirituelbor. Middle English spiritual English spiritual From Middle English spiritual, spirituel, from Old French spirituel, from Late Latin spīrituālis, from Latin spīritus. By surface analysis, spirit + -ual.

Across languages

Translations

119 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: geestelik — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Afrikaans: spiritueel — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Arabic: رُوحَانِيّ (rūḥāniyy) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Arabic: رُوحِيّ (rūḥiyy) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Armenian: հոգեւոր (hogewor) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Asturian: espiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Azerbaijani: ruhi — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Azerbaijani: ruhani — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Azerbaijani: mənəvi — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Belarusian: духо́ўны (duxówny) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Bengali: আধ্যাত্মিক (addhattik) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Bulgarian: духо́вен (duhóven) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Catalan: espiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Chinese Mandarin: 精神 (jīngshén) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Czech: duchovní — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Danish: åndelig — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Dutch: geestelijk — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Dutch: spiritueel — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Esperanto: spirita — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Esperanto: anima — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Estonian: vaimne — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Finnish: hengellinen — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Finnish: henkinen — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • French: spirituel — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Galician: espiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • German: geistig — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Gothic: 𐌰𐌷𐌼𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ahmeins) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Greek: πνευματικός (pnevmatikós) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Ancient Greek: πνευματικός (pneumatikós) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Hebrew: רוּחָנִי (rukhaní) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Hindi: आध्यात्मिक (ādhyātmik) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Hungarian: spirituális — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Hungarian: lelki — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Irish: spioradálta — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Old Irish: spirutálta — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Italian: spirituale — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Japanese: 精神的 (seishinteki) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Kazakh: рухани (ruxani) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Korean: 정신적 (jeongsinjeok) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Korean: 정신의 (jeongsinui) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Kyrgyz: руханий (ruhaniy) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Macedonian: духовен (duhoven) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Malagasy: ara-panahy — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Malayalam: ആത്മീയ (ātmīya) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Manx: spyrrydoil — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Māori: whakawairua — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Middle English: gostly — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Norwegian: åndelig — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Norwegian: spirituell — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Occitan: espirital — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Old East Slavic: духовьнꙑи (duxovĭnyi) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Old English: gāstlīċ — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Persian: روحی (ruhi) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Persian: معنوی (ma'navi) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Persian: روحانی (rowhâni) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Polish: duchowy — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Portuguese: espiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Romanian: sufletesc — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Romanian: spiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Russian: духо́вный (duxóvnyj) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Serbo-Croatian: ду̀хо̄внӣ — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Serbo-Croatian: dùhōvnī — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Slovak: duchovný — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Slovene: duhoven — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Upper Sorbian: duchowny — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Spanish: espiritual — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Swedish: andlig — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Tagalog: makadiwa — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Tajik: рӯҳӣ (rühi) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Tajik: маънавӣ (ma'navi) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Telugu: ఆధ్యాత్మిక (ādhyātmika) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Turkish: spiritüel — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Turkish: tinsel — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Turkish: ruhsal — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Turkish: manevi — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Turkish: ruhani — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Ukrainian: духо́вний (duxóvnyj) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Uzbek: ruhiy — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Uzbek: maʼnaviy — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Welsh: ysbrydol — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Yiddish: רוחיש (rukhish) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Yiddish: גײַסטיק (gaystik) — of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul
  • Afrikaans: geestelik — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Bulgarian: свят (svjat) — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Finnish: hengellinen — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Finnish: pyhä — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Middle English: gostly — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Turkish: manevi — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Turkish: ruhani — of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred
  • Afrikaans: spiritueel — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Bulgarian: свръхестествен (svrǎhestestven) — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Finnish: henkimaailman — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Finnish: yliluonnollinen — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Malayalam: ആത്മീയ (ātmīya) — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Romanian: spiritual — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Turkish: manevi — of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural
  • Afrikaans: spiritueel — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Bulgarian: духовен (duhoven) — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Finnish: henki- — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Malayalam: അലൗകിക (alaukika) — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Middle English: gostly — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Turkish: manevi — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Turkish: tinsel — consisting of spirit; not material
  • Afrikaans: spiritueel — of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind
  • Bulgarian: одухотворен (oduhotvoren) — of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind
  • Estonian: vaimne — of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind
  • Finnish: henkinen — of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind
  • Finnish: älyllinen — of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind
  • Finnish: Pyhän Hengen johdattama — Christianity: controlled and inspired by the Holy Spirit
  • Bulgarian: свят (svjat) — not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things
  • Finnish: hengellinen — not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things
  • Māori: whakawairua — not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things
  • Middle English: gostly — not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things
  • Bulgarian: религиозна песен (religiozna pesen) — folk song
  • Czech: spirituál — folk song
  • Finnish: spirituaali — folk song
  • Hungarian: spirituálé — folk song
  • Italian: spiritual — folk song
  • Spanish: espiritual — folk song
Real reading context

spiritual in complete knowledge articles