animistic

American  

[an-uh-mis-tik] / ˌæn əˈmɪs tɪk /

adjective

1. relating to or based on animism, the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself have souls.

   Most of these groups, in a form of animistic shamanism, paid reverence to the primal spirits of the elements and the wilderness.

2. relating to the belief that natural objects have souls that can exist apart from their material bodies.

   The members of this animistic tribe hold that a flame has life and spirit, and fear the ghost of a flame that has suddenly been quenched.

3. relating to or based on a belief in spiritual beings or agencies.

   Although Myanmar is a profoundly Buddhist society, many people still have strong animistic beliefs, with an elaborate system of 37 spirit gods.

4. relating to the doctrine that the soul is the principle of life and health.

   In a version of Taoism based on early animistic beliefs, health was thought to depend on the free flow of the Qi, or vital force, through the channels of the body.

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Etymology

Origin of animistic

First recorded in 1850–60; anim(ism) + -istic ( def. )