Standard Lemma guide

spiritualism

noun · 7 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.

  • /ˈspɪɹɪtjuəlɪzəm/
  • /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəlɪzəm/
  • /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃəlɪzəm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S P IH1 R IH0 CH UW2 AH0 L IH2 Z AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being, the altogether spiritual character of reality and the value of inwardness of consciousness.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A belief that the dead communicate with the living, especially through a medium. Used in a broader sense than spiritism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The quality or state of being spiritual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A belief that spirits of the dead have both the ability and the inclination to communicate with the living, providing useful knowledge about moral and ethical issues, as well as about the nature of God.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

concern with things of the spirit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spirituality, spiritism, otherworldliness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inwardness, internality

6

noun

Meaning 6

the belief that the spirits of dead people can communicate with people who are still alive (especially via a medium)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: belief

7

noun

Meaning 7

(theology) any doctrine that asserts the separate existence of God

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: theological doctrine

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 Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English spiritualism From spiritual + -ism. In Allan Kardec's book The Spirits Book (1857) (Le Livre des Esprits in the original French), in which a distinction between spiritism and spiritualism is defined.

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 Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós) Ancient Greek -ισμός (-ismós)der. English -ism English Spiritualism From spiritual + -ism.

Across languages

Translations

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: espiritualisme — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Finnish: spiritualismi — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • French: spiritualisme — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Galician: espiritualismo — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • German: Spiritualismus — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Greek: σπιριτουαλισμός (spiritoualismós) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Hindi: आत्मवाद (ātmavād) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Hindi: अध्यात्मवाद (adhyātmavād) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Icelandic: spíritismi — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Italian: spiritualismo — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Japanese: 唯心 (yuishin) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Japanese: 心霊主義 (shinreishugi) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Japanese: スピリチュアリズム (supirichuarizumu) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Portuguese: espiritualismo — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Romanian: spiritualism — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Russian: спиритуали́зм (spiritualízm) — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Spanish: espiritualismo — the philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism
  • Finnish: spiritismi — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • French: spiritisme — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • German: Spiritismus — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Icelandic: spíritismi — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Italian: spiritismo — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Portuguese: espiritualismo — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Portuguese: espiritismo — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Russian: спирити́зм (spiritízm) — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Russian: спиритуали́зм (spiritualízm) — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Spanish: espiritualismo — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Spanish: espiritismo — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Tagalog: diwakuro — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Tagalog: pagkamakadiwa — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Volapük: spirutim — the belief that the dead communicate with the living through mediums
  • Finnish: henkisyys — quality or state of being spiritual
  • Romanian: spiritualitate — quality or state of being spiritual
  • Russian: духо́вность (duxóvnostʹ) — quality or state of being spiritual
  • Finnish: spiritismi — belief
Real reading context

spiritualism in complete knowledge articles