Spiritual

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

• spirituall, spirytual, spirytuall, spyritual, spyrituall, spyrytual, spyrytuall

Origin

Full definition of spiritual

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul.Respect towards ancestors is an essential part of Thai spiritual practice.
• Sir Thomas BrowneGod's law is spiritual; it is a transcript of the divine nature, and extends its authority to the acts of the soul of man.
2. Of or pertaining to God or a place of worship; sacred.
3. Of or pertaining to spirits; supernatural.
4. Consisting of spirit; not material; incorporeal.a spiritual substance or being
• Bible, 1. Corinthians xv. 44It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
5. Of or relating to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind; mental; intellectual.
6. (Christianity) Controlled and inspired by the Holy Spirit; pure; holy.
• Bible, Gal. vi. 1If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one.
7. Not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things; ecclesiastical.the spiritual functions of the clergy; lords spiritual and temporal; a spiritual corporation

Derived terms

• antispiritual
• antispiritualism
• antispirituality
• spiritual desertion
• spiritualism
• spiritualist
• spirituality
• spiritually

Noun

1. A Christian religious song, especially one in an African-American style, or a similar non-religious song.
2. Any spiritual function, office, or affair.He assigns supremacy to the pope in spirituals, and to the emperor in temporals. — Lowell.