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

The country of nearly 30 million is world-renowned as a hotspot for trekking and mountaineering, as well as a premier global destination for spiritual travel. — Sam Meredith,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026 There does not seem to be much of substance beyond the dance floor, and even there the rush of movement often gives way to a spiritual desolation. — Robert Rubsam, New Yorker, 2 Sep. 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

Netanyahu’s government, the most ultranationalist and religious in Israel’s history, has presided over a surge of settlement construction in the West Bank.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026
Netanyahu’s government is the most ultranationalist and religious in Israel’s history.

— Ibrahim Hazboun, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of religious

Noun

The crowd listened in silence as the Polynesians, wearing blue fire uniforms, sang a Tahitian hymn in harmony while two of them strummed ukuleles.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of hymn

Adjective

While psychic readers have storefronts in other parts of the city, this change applies to the Community Business and Boulevard Business zoning districts, which previously did not permit soothsaying.

— Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
For now, Oluko is forging a smooth psychic path for Leighton to do this work.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 4 Sep. 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 6 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of spiritual

adjective

noun

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