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animism
[ an-uh-miz-uhm ]
noun
- the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls.
- the belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies.
- the doctrine that the soul is the principle of life and health.
- belief in spiritual beings or agencies.
animism
/ ˈænɪˌmɪzəm; ˌænɪˈmɪstɪk /
noun
- the belief that natural objects, phenomena, and the universe itself have desires and intentions
- (in the philosophies of Plato and Pythagoras) the hypothesis that there is an immaterial force that animates the universe
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Derived Forms
- ˈanimist, noun
- animistic, adjective
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Other Words From
- an·i·mist adjective
- an·i·mis·tic [an-, uh, -, mis, -tik], adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of animism1
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Example Sentences
This was a new and sophisticated republication of savage animism.
Hence Animism, Totemism, and their numerous subsidiary developments.
Animism, an′im-izm, n. a theory which regards the belief in separate spiritual existences as the germ of religious ideas.
This represents a particular form of animism, for the soul of the ancestor is thought to become a god.
The sacrificial object is regarded as having a soul, quite in the sense of early animism.
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