1
as in metaphysical
not composed of matter
a staunch skeptic and realist, he scoffs at the very notion of ghosts and other spiritual entities
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in religious
of, relating to, or used in the practice or worship services of a religion
spiritual songs that have been sung by generations of worshippers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in hymn
a religious song
sang a spiritual at the funeral
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiritual
Ben Church, CNN, 19 Dec. 2024
Thinking of the West African practice of creating containers filled with spiritual potential, Henry spent her spare time traversing New York, trawling the stands of street vendors and the aisles of toy stores alike.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024
Steven Vargas, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2024
My grandmother and her affinity and love of spirituals really heavily influenced me.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spiritual 
Adjective
People in the Amazonian region of Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador have used it for centuries for therapeutic and spiritual purposes.
—Ben Church, CNN, 19 Dec. 2024
Thinking of the West African practice of creating containers filled with spiritual potential, Henry spent her spare time traversing New York, trawling the stands of street vendors and the aisles of toy stores alike.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 18 Dec. 2024
Noun
Rushing’s main goal was to make the spirituals legible to today’s youth.
—Steven Vargas, ARTnews.com, 30 Sep. 2024
My grandmother and her affinity and love of spirituals really heavily influenced me.
—Stephen Humphries, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spiritual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritual
Adjective
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Although the machines’ inventor is concerned with metaphysical questions—do intelligent robots disprove God’s existence?—his engineer son sees the potential for major profit and manufactures robots for sale around the world, with disastrous results.Elvia Wilk, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2024
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Her interest in mysteries and the occult began in the metaphysical section at her local Borders.Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 13 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Kevin Theriot, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the plaintiffs, applauded the ruling as a significant step in protecting religious organizations’ autonomy.Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 2 Jan. 2025
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My father tended to avoid these discussions, regarding them as reminders of a time of religious division best left to rust away alongside other ugly remnants of the war.Youmna Melhem Chamieh, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Awakening the Great Organ is just the beginning of a series of ceremonial rituals marking the reopening of the Notre-Dame before the Archbishop gives his final blessing, followed by the singing of the Te Deum, an ancient Latin hymn of praise to God.NBC News, NBC News, 7 Dec. 2024
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Then, the archbishop will give a final blessing and the choir will sing Te Deum, a Latin hymn.Christian Edwards, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Participating in American commercial Christmas does not mean participating in the Christian faith and takes nothing away from our devout Christian friends who celebrate a sacred holiday.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
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The nonprofit Apache Stronghold is challenging the mine on religious grounds, and this fall asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lawsuit filed to protect sacred Apache ground at Oak Flat, which Congress voted to trade to Rio Tinto to enable mining under it.Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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This year was largely defined by pop stars who rewrote the rules, genre outlaws who succeeded in new territory and a rap beef that gave us a unifying anthem.Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2024
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In 2023, the Associated Press reported that the holiday anthem earned $100 million in royalties annually.Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 14 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Much of the new Nosferatu’s unsettling strangeness is crystallized in the pair’s unusual psychic connection.Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge, 20 Dec. 2024
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With her latent psychic abilities unlocked and Okarun’s garish feral form, the duo kicks some alien ass and escape.Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
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He is known as the patron saint of bookbinders and wrote an illustrative book of psalms while at the monastery of St. Finnian, according to Discovering Ireland.Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 15 Mar. 2024
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Inside the nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ thundered back to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies.Thomas Adamson and John Leicester, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Making a film that’s exciting, that’s scary in moments and deals with supernatural — there’s a ghost haunting these ideas.Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
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Happy whales strapped with barrels of coins, supernatural serpentine disco queens.Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near spiritual
Cite this Entry
“Spiritual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritual. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
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