the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.
the spiritual part of humans regarded in its moral aspect, or as believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come.
arguing the immortality of the soul.
the disembodied spirit of a deceased person.
He feared the soul of the deceased would haunt him.
the emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments.
a human being; person.
high-mindedness; noble warmth of feeling, spirit or courage, etc.
the animating principle; the essential element or part of something.
the inspirer or moving spirit of some action, movement, etc.
the embodiment of some quality.
He was the very soul of tact.
(initial capital letter) God; the divine source of all identity and individuality.
shared ethnic awareness and pride among Black people, especially Black Americans.
deeply felt emotion, as conveyed or expressed by a performer or artist.
the spirit or immaterial part of man, the seat of human personality, intellect, will, and emotions, regarded as an entity that survives the body after death
Christianity the spiritual part of a person, capable of redemption from the power of sin through divine grace
the essential part or fundamental nature of anything
a person's feelings or moral nature as distinct from other faculties
Also called: soul music. a type of Black music resulting from the addition of jazz, gospel, and pop elements to the urban blues style
( as modifier )
a soul singer
(modifier) of or relating to Black Americans and their culture
soul brother
soul food
nobility of spirit or temperament
a man of great soul and courage
an inspiring spirit or leading figure, as of a cause or movement
a person regarded as typifying some characteristic or quality
the soul of discretion
a person; individual
an honest soul
See life
an exclamation of surprise
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sāwl, sāwol; cognate with Dutch ziel, German Seele, Old Norse sāl, Gothic saiwala
The noun soul can mean an individual human being, but it can also mean essence of a human being. If you believe the soul is immortal, you believe that even when your physical body dies, some other part of you lives on. Soul shows up in various forms in all Nordic and Germanic languages, but no one knows where it originated, just like the whole idea of the soul. Philosophers and theologians have debated the exact definition of soul for ages, but it always stands for that ineffable part of a human unlimited by the body, the grandest, deepest part. Soul music is a popular form of gospel, and if you "have soul," you really feel what it is to be alive.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet no prison staff ever came to speak to a single soul.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
“Dayanara was a bright light, a gentle soul, and someone whose kindness touched everyone around her,” the sorority shared in a memorial post.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
We recoil at AI-generated music, art and writing—expressions of critical thinking, creativity and soul that have been replaced by a machine’s data aggregation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Appearing as Sunday's headline act, the 82-year-old US soul star sang the track, which included lyrics like: "Joy, joy, joy, freedom, always be you", after dedicating it to the audience.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
To usher a soul into the Afterlife on All Hallows’ Eve!
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
At the time, I was really taken with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, and I wanted to make electronic music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
He became known for his Soul II Soul Sunday night jam at the Africa Centre.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Fanone -- a former Trump supporter -- has spoken repeatedly about the trauma he experienced during the uprising, including in his 2022 memoir "Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul."
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Alan is the author of five books, including, most recently, “Tomorrow’s Capitalist: My Search for the Soul of Business.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Anyway, you would be surprised by how many people died in the killer skunk attacks of 1919, including poor Billy Snagglehook, May God Rest His Soul.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
We were always kind of old souls in that way.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Science can explain the world around us, but magic helps us appreciate the wonder in the atomic arrangement of nature, chance meetings with open-hearted souls and kindness without expectation of anything in return.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
He returns home in beggar’s clothes with a plan to pay penance to the scores of souls he unjustly sent to the underworld.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
“Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees them.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
If Aunt Kitty left me here, pressed in with hundreds of other unwanted souls, I could no longer complain of being alone.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
