# spiritual

Pronunciation: US say "SPEER-i-choo-uhl" /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/; UK say "SPEER-i-chuu-uhl" /ˈspɪɹɪtʃʊəl/

## Adjective

1. Relating to the spirit or the soul, rather than to the body or material things.
   - Simple: About a person's spirit or soul, not their body.
   - _Years of grief led her on a spiritual journey she never expected to take._
   - _The retreat emphasizes spiritual growth over physical fitness or career success._
2. Relating to God, religion, or a place of worship; sacred or pure. In Christian use specifically, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
   - Simple: Connected with God, religion, or holy things.
   - _The congregation gathered for prayer and other spiritual exercises throughout Lent._
   - _Paul taught that believers are granted different spiritual gifts for building up the church._
3. Relating to spirits, ghosts, or other supernatural beings and forces beyond the physical world.
   - Simple: Connected with ghosts, spirits, or things beyond the natural world.
   - _The medium claimed she could communicate with the spiritual world beyond death._
   - _Local folk tales describe spiritual forces that guard the mountain passes at night._
4. Consisting of spirit rather than matter; having no physical or material form.
   - Simple: Made of spirit, not of physical material. You cannot touch it.
   - _Descartes argued that the mind is a spiritual substance distinct from the body._
   - _Angels were traditionally described as purely spiritual beings, having no flesh or physical form._
6. Relating to the church and sacred matters rather than to lay or worldly affairs; ecclesiastical.
   - Simple: Belonging to the church and its leaders, not to ordinary or government life.
   - _Medieval clergy answered to spiritual courts rather than to the king's judges._
   - _The archbishop wielded spiritual authority over the diocese while regents managed its estates._
7. Belonging to the mind, and especially to its intellectual and other higher faculties.
   - Simple: Connected with the mind and its higher powers, such as thinking and understanding.
   - _Nineteenth-century educators sought to cultivate a child's spiritual faculties of reason, memory, and imagination._
   - _He prized spiritual pursuits such as philosophy and mathematics above bodily comforts._

## Noun

5. A Christian religious song, especially one in the African-American tradition, or a similar song without religious content.
   - Simple: A religious song, especially one first sung by African Americans, or a similar song that is not religious.
   - _The soloist opened the concert with a slow, mournful spiritual._
   - _"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" remains one of the most widely recorded spirituals._
8. A function, office, or affair belonging to the church rather than to worldly authority.
   - Simple: A church duty or matter, not an everyday or government one.
   - _Tithes were reckoned a spiritual and so fell to the church courts rather than the crown's._
   - _The new bishop assumed charge of the spirituals of the diocese while stewards managed its lands._

## Origin

From Middle English spiritual, borrowed through Old French spirituel from Late Latin spīrituālis, which comes from Latin spīritus. It can be seen as spirit plus the suffix -ual.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/spiritual (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).