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.
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