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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spiritual
Malaka Gharib, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
The film follows the story of Bayu, an Indonesian teenager who aspires to become a shaman for local trance parties in a small suburban community where inhabitants derive pleasure from spiritual possession.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025
Set to traditional Black spirituals, work songs and blues tunes, the dance performance reflects the Black experience through its story of faith and perseverance from the trials of slavery to freedom.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiritual
Adjective
Here is a sampling of where our readers find spiritual comfort, from poetry to gardening to gazing out into the ocean.
—Malaka Gharib, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
The film follows the story of Bayu, an Indonesian teenager who aspires to become a shaman for local trance parties in a small suburban community where inhabitants derive pleasure from spiritual possession.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 19 Mar. 2025
Noun
This included early American music forms, marches, spirituals, field hollers, work songs and African rhythms, as well as their musical descendants, like jazz, blues, gospel, country and rock ‘n’ roll.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2025
Set to traditional Black spirituals, work songs and blues tunes, the dance performance reflects the Black experience through its story of faith and perseverance from the trials of slavery to freedom.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiritual
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritual
Adjective
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Beckett reminds us of the metaphysical vastness that the stage can contain.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Beelzebub, however, is nothing but evil incarnate, first appearing as a sort of metaphysical pollution—a writhing black oil-like glob suspended in midair.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities experienced distinct harms that were compounded by pre-existing discrimination and violence against them - as women and as minorities.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes,
16 Mar. 2025
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The parents draw us into their earnest struggle to repress their horror at their children’s deviations from religious norms.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The pair sang along to hymns and the UK’s national anthem, and smiled while watching the performances.—
Lauren Said-Moorhouse,
CNN,
10 Mar. 2025
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Renditions of those melancholic hymns, which often told of homesickness and heartbreak, played from a speaker in the courtyard.—
Chris Schalkx,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The right to seek legal redress and the right of the press to report on it are sacred principles that are protected by multiple privileges, including the litigation and fair report privileges, which are absolute.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2025
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On May 19, 2022, two astrophotographers set up near the sacred lake of Pumoyongcuo on the southern Tibetan Plateau captured a vibrant display streaking across the Himalayan sky.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
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While Hamilton mostly features hip hop and rap, 3 Summers of Lincoln is more traditionally Broadway, filled with anthems, ballads and enough catchy songs to eventually earn it a Tony nomination.—
Lois Alter Mark,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
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In the 1960s, Bob Dylan dropped an American anthem with Like a Rolling Stone, and by 1969, Gap was selling jeans and records in its first store — two moments that shaped and bridged culture gaps for generations to come.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The books are a series of paranormal mysteries following teen psychic Alex and his investigator friends.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2025
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The psychic medium, 33, and his wife Alexa, 26, welcomed their second baby, son Rowan Alexander Fraser, on Tuesday, March 18, sharing the exciting news exclusively with PEOPLE.—
Kayla Grant,
People.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Lady Olive certainly sank: All of its crew members escaped in lifeboats, singing psalms to stave off hypothermia, and were saved after 36 hours at sea.—
Sean Kingsley,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 Feb. 2025
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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
Adjective
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The film represents a bold examination of the overseas Filipino worker experience, using supernatural horror as a lens to explore the emotional toll of migration.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
19 Mar. 2025
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The trailer soon shows just how those supernatural entities unfold, beginning with a sighting of two dogs in the forest that stand still in their tracks, as if frozen in time.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiritual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritual. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
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