soul

Pluralsouls

1. 1
   spiritnouncountable or uncountable

   The spiritual essence of a person, thought to include their thoughts and personality, and often believed to continue after death.

   The poet wrote of the soul yearning for something beyond earthly life.

   Mourners gathered to pray for the soul of the departed.

   UsageOften paired with immortal: an immortal soul. People pray for the soul of someone who has died.

   Similarspirit, psyche

   Oppositebody

   Note

   Andersen's The Little Mermaid (1837) turns on a mermaid who lacks an immortal soul. Toby Fox's Undertale (2015) draws the soul as a heart, "the very culmination of your being." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

   • Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Little Mermaid. andersen.sdu.dk
   • The Little Mermaid was first published in 1837. andersen.sdu.dk
   • The mermaid's lack of an immortal soul is central to the story. andersen.sdu.dk
   • Toby Fox created Undertale, released in 2015. en.wikipedia.org
   • Undertale represents the player's soul as a heart. en.wikipedia.org
   • The quotation is exact; its speaker is Flowey. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   personnouncountable or uncountable

   A single individual human being, especially when considered as one of a larger number.

   There wasn't a soul in sight on the abandoned road.

   The census recorded every soul living within the parish.

   UsageMost common in negatives: not a soul, not a single soul. In counts it simply means people: two hundred souls.

   Similarperson, individual, being

   Note

   Counted souls are people seen as a group: a parish, a ship's company, a hoped-for colony. D. H. Lawrence, writing to William Hopkin in January 1915, hoped to gather "about twenty souls" to sail away with him and found a colony. Counts of the lost or rescued use it the same way: two hundred souls perished. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • In a letter to William Hopkin dated 18 January 1915, D. H. Lawrence expressed his wish to gather about twenty souls, sail away and found a colony; the quoted words are exact. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   music genrenouncountable or uncountable

   A genre of African American popular music that emerged from gospel and rhythm and blues, marked by expressive, emotive vocals.

   Motown helped bring soul to a national audience in the 1960s.

   He plays guitar in a soul band on weekends.

   UsageUsually without a or the, like jazz: listen to soul. Often before another noun: a soul singer, a soul record.

   Note

   Listeners recognize it by technique as much as by sound: melisma, call-and-response, and gospel vocal intensity over rhythm-and-blues instrumentation. Motown, Stax and Atlantic are the labels that did most to spread it. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Melisma is a technique found in soul singing. greilmarcus.net
   • Call-and-response is characteristic of soul music. en.wikipedia.org
   • Soul combines gospel-style vocal expression with rhythm-and-blues musical backing. en.wikipedia.org
4. 4
   essencenouncountable or uncountable

   The central quality or essence that gives something its true character.

   Improvisation is the soul of jazz.

   Honesty was the very soul of her writing.

   UsageUsually the soul of something. Do not confuse without a soul (no character) with not a soul (nobody).

   Similaressence, heart, core, spirit, lifeblood

   Note

   Here the word leaves the person behind and attaches to towns, institutions and works. W. B. Maxwell's The Mirror and the Lamp (1918) calls a self-satisfied city "a place without a soul." A place without a soul lacks character, not inhabitants. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • W. B. Maxwell wrote The Mirror and the Lamp. openlibrary.org
   • The novel contains the exact phrase a place without a soul. en.wiktionary.org
   • The quoted description concerns a place whose public life is self-satisfied. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   nouncountable or uncountable

   Deep feeling, energy, and vitality, especially as expressed in someone's actions or art.

   The veteran musician played every note with soul.

   A team without soul rarely wins the close games.

   UsageUsually without a: play with soul, have real soul.

   Similarfeeling, passion, spirit, heart, emotion

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