SPIRITUAL Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

spiritual 1 of 2

adjective

ˈspir-i-chə-wəl

Definition of spiritual

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

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

spiritual

2 of 2

noun

as in hymn

a religious song sang a spiritual at the funeral

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of spiritual

Adjective

Seventy-seven people from one pilgrimage group were caught in the floods at the immigration office at the border, according to a post on X from Indian spiritual guru Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev. — Shristi Kafle, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026 Below, during a conversation with THR, Blair also discusses the spiritual and thematic connection between Idiots and I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026

Noun

Born in Black communities in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, jazz emerged from a blend of African rhythms, blues, spirituals, ragtime, improvisation, and collective storytelling. — Keith Brooks, Forbes.com, 10 June 2026 Let’s go back to the first century, when Jesus united the physical and the spiritual. — Stephanie McCrummen, The Atlantic, 18 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for spiritual

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritual

Adjective

Eddy has been spared the worst violence; the novel casts his racial privilege as a kind of metaphysical exemption.

— Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
There seems to be a deliberate effort here to make the show more fun without dumbing down its metaphysical and philosophical implications.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of metaphysical

Adjective

Most are men between the ages of 18 and 49, without a college degree, earning less than $50,000 a year, less religious than average, and likely to also drink alcohol.

— Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Deepak and Madhu Ahuja, Plano, Texas, business owners who have been married for 34 years, were in the area for a religious journey to Mount Kailash, a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists.

— Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of religious

Noun

The scholar of religion Friedrich Max Müller (1823–1900) noticed that many Vedic hymns praise different deities using the same superlatives and ascribe to them the same mythological feats.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Avie Lee filled the family's two-room home with music by singing hymns, folk songs and traditional mountain music.

— Devarrick Turner, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of hymn

Adjective

Shaye plays Elise Rainer, a dimension-traveling psychic who helps people fight off demons, even from the afterlife.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
What we’re left with is the image of the fanatic, leaving prints on the grass, chasing the President’s golf cart to no avail, working out her psychic need in the epistolary form, writing as much to herself as to her addressee.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of psychic

Noun

If the night had ended after that soaring anthem, few in the heavily female and predominantly middle-aged crowd could have complained.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 2 Sep. 2026
Those who condemned his protest chose to focus on his kneeling during the anthem — as opposed to the police violence that drove him to do it.

— Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of anthem

Adjective

As dark occurrences begin to shatter the quiet of their isolated home, the boy is forced to navigate a harrowing psychological nightmare where the line between real-world madness and supernatural terror blurs.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026
The sequel ratchets up the stakes by saddling its cursed protagonist with not only a supernatural nightmare but the pressures of living under an intensely public spotlight.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of supernatural

Noun

Psalm 23 is numbered Psalm 22 in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate because of differences in how the psalms are divided and numbered.

— Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Aug. 2026
But presiding over his daughter’s outdoor wedding helped, fulfilling another psalm’s promise.

— Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Definition of psalm

Cite this Entry

Style

“Spiritual.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritual. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of spiritual

adjective

noun

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