What does spiritual mean?
Spiritual is an adjective describing things connected with the human spirit, soul, inner life, or divine reality, as distinct from matter or physical circumstances. In everyday use it often refers to beliefs and practices involving religion, but its scope is broader: people may speak of spiritual growth, needs, values, or a spiritual dimension without belonging to an organized faith. The word often carries a reflective, elevated tone and can suggest an inward search for purpose, meaning, or transcendence. Spiritual can also function as a noun in the plural “spirituals,” meaning religious songs, especially those associated with African American Christian traditions. Context determines whether the emphasis is devotional, philosophical, or broadly personal. The term is useful because it points to dimensions of experience that material or purely factual descriptions do not capture.
Relating to the spirit, soul, inner life, religion, or realities regarded as transcending the material world.
"Music gave him a sense of spiritual connection with the landscape."
The adjective is widely used in both explicitly religious and broader personal or philosophical contexts.
A religious song, especially one belonging to the African American spiritual tradition.
"The choir performed an arrangement of a nineteenth-century spiritual."
The noun is usually used in the plural form “spirituals.”
The plural “spirituals” is the customary form for religious songs of this kind, although the singular “a spiritual” is grammatically possible.
"Workers sang spirituals that expressed faith, freedom, and endurance."
From the Latin spiritus, meaning “breath,” spiritual developed from the idea of a breath that animates life to a word for what lies beyond the material.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spiritual come from?
The word entered English from Old French “spiritual,” which was derived from Latin “spiritualis,” meaning “of or relating to the spirit.” Latin “spiritualis” in turn came from “spiritus,” meaning “breath, spirit, or soul,” a word associated with the same root as Latin “spirare,” “to breathe.” Over time, “spiritual” developed meanings relating both to religious life and to the broader nonphysical or inward aspects of human existence.
Related word forms
How spiritual is actually used
In general use, “spiritual” may suggest religion, but it is also common in secular contexts such as personal development and wellness. The noun is usually plural: “spirituals.”
Easily confused with spiritual
Spirited means lively, energetic, or animated, whereas spiritual means relating to the soul, inner life, religion, or transcendent concerns.