mahatma
Americannoun
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a Brahman sage.
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(especially in India) a person who is held in the highest esteem for wisdom and saintliness.
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(in Theosophy) a great sage who has renounced further spiritual development in order to aid those who are less advanced.
noun
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Hinduism a Brahman sage
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theosophy an adept or sage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of mahatma
1850–55; < Sanskrit mahātmā, nominative singular of mahātman high-souled, magnanimous, equivalent to mahā- great + ātman atman
Vocabulary lists containing mahatma
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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History of India - Introductory
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History of India - Middle School and High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.
From BBC • May 1, 2026
Then came his 1849 essay, later read by people like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026
Over the weekend, Graham took to the airwaves and agreed, making Buck Turgidson look like Mahatma Gandhi by comparison.
From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026
Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi in India and later Nelson Mandela in South Africa deployed disciplined nonviolence, chosen not because violence was unthinkable but because repression was predictable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026
He also said that many people came to visit the Mahatma and offer him good wishes, but Gandhi wasn’t joyous.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
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.
