What does "spirit" mean?
The soul of a person or other creature.
Spirit
/ˈspɪɹɪt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The soul of a person or other creature.
- Grammar: spirit is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: liquor, specter, abandon, abduce.
- Useful contrasts: physical form, worldly item, the body.
- Usage evidence: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
How to use "spirit"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "spirit" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "spirit" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "spirit" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "spirit" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "spirit" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "liquor" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "spirit", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The soul of a person or other creature. countable, uncountable
"[…] St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit."
- 2 a fundamental emotional and activating principle determining one's character wordnet
- 3 A supernatural being, often but not exclusively without physical form; ghost, fairy, angel. countable, uncountable
"A wandering spirit haunts the island."
- 4 an inclination or tendency of a certain kind wordnet
- 5 Enthusiasm. countable, uncountable
"School spirit is at an all-time high."
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 animation and energy in action or expression wordnet
- 7 The manner or style of something. countable, uncountable
"In the spirit of forgiveness, we didn't press charges."
- 8 the intended meaning of a communication wordnet
- 9 Intent; real meaning; opposed to the letter, or formal statement. countable, uncountable
"the spirit of an enterprise, or of a document"
- 10 any incorporeal supernatural being that can become visible (or audible) to human beings wordnet
- 11 A volatile liquid, such as alcohol. The plural form spirits is a generic term for distilled alcoholic beverages. countable, plural-normally, uncountable
"CRYSTALS of Venus or of copper, called also vitriol of Venus, is copper reduced into the form of vitriol by spirit of nitre, or by dissolving verdegris in good distilled vinegar, till the acid be saturated; it is very caustic and used to eat off proud flesh. It is also used by painters, and manufacturers, and sold under the name of distilled vinegar. See CHEMISTRY."
- 12 the vital principle or animating force within living things wordnet
- 13 Energy; ardour. countable, uncountable
""Write it then, quickly," replied Bede; and summoning all his spirits together, like the last blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and expired."
- 14 the state of a person's emotions (especially with regard to pleasure or dejection) wordnet
- 15 One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper. countable, uncountable
"a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit"
- 16 the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people wordnet
- 17 Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state. countable, in-plural, often, uncountable
"to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be down-hearted, or in bad spirits"
- 18 Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"For else he sure had left not one aliue,>br>But all in his reuenge of spirite would depriue."
- 19 A rough breathing; an aspirate, such as the letter h; also, a mark denoting aspiration. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use of it."
- 20 Any of the four substances: sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, and arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment). countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 21 Stannic chloride. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To carry off, especially in haste, secrecy, or mystery.
"I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of felicity."
- 2 infuse with spirit wordnet
- 3 Sometimes followed by up: to animate with vigour; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit.
"Civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men."
Proper Noun
- 1 Ellipsis of Holy Spirit. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"Around us the history of the land has centred for thrice a hundred years; out of the nation's heart we have called all that was best to throttle and subdue all that was worst; fire and blood, prayer and sacrifice, have billowed over this people, and they have found peace only in the altars of the God of Right. Nor has our gift of the Spirit been merely passive."
Antonyms
Example
"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "spirit"?
Common synonyms include: liquor, specter, abandon, abduce, abduct, abscond.
How do you use "spirit" in a sentence?
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
How do you pronounce "spirit"?
Pronounced /ˈspɪɹɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English spirit, from Old French espirit (“spirit”), from Latin spīritus (“breath; spirit”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peys- (“to blow, breathe”). Compare inspire, respire, transpire, all ultimately from Latin spīrō (“I breathe, blow, respire”). In this sense, displaced native Middle English gast (from Old English gāst), whence modern English ghost. Doublet of spiritus, spirytus, sprite, spright, and esprit.