What does karmically mean?
Karmically is an adverb meaning in relation to karma, especially the moral or spiritual consequences of one's actions. It is often used in comments about a person's character, conduct, relationships, or fortune: an event may be described as karmically fitting, justified, or connected to someone who has previously been kind or cruel to them. The expression can suggest that the universe balances moral actions through coincidence, adversity, or reward, although it sometimes refers more broadly to the idea that present experiences are consequences of past behaviour. In contemporary English, karmically frequently carries spiritual or New Age associations, especially in writing about reincarnation, but the underlying idea is also used in discussions of ethics and philosophy. Because it makes a strong interpretive claim about the relationship between actions and outcomes, the adverb is often better suited to reflection, fiction, and informal commentary than to neutral factual reporting.
adverbIn a manner that relates to karma or the moral consequences of a person's actions.
- With reference to karma or the moral and spiritual consequences of a person's actions.
"She believed that his recovery was karmically justified after years of selfless service."
"After witnessing his enemy's misfortune, she wondered whether it had happened karmically."
"The novel suggests that the hero and his rival are karmically linked across successive lives."
The word karma originally meant action or fate, not the popular idea of cosmic punishment and reward.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does karmically come from?
The word ultimately comes from Sanskrit karman, meaning action, deed, or work, with a sense involving the consequences of action. The related English noun karma and adjective karmic entered wider European usage during the 19th century, especially through translations of Indian religious and philosophical writings. The popular English meaning involving the consequences of a person's actions, and eventually cosmic reward or punishment, developed as the term passed beyond its more general Sanskrit sense.
How karmically is actually used
Relatively uncommon and most frequent in discussions of karma, reincarnation, and spiritual causation. It can sound informal or reflective rather than strictly technical, though the term 'karmic' is also used in philosophy and religious studies.
Easily confused with karmically
Karmically concerns the moral consequences of actions, whereas charmingly describes something pleasing or attractive.
Karmically connects actions with their moral or spiritual consequences, while comically describes something intended to provoke laughter.