spiritualism

American  

[spir-i-choo-uh-liz-uhm] / ˈspɪr ɪ tʃu əˌlɪz əm /

noun

1. the belief or doctrine that the spirits of the dead, surviving after the mortal life, can and do communicate with the living, especially through a person (a medium) particularly susceptible to their influence.

2. the practices or phenomena associated with this belief.

3. the belief that all reality is spiritual.

4. Metaphysics. any of various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind.

5. spiritual quality or tendency.

6. insistence on the spiritual side of things, as in philosophy or religion.

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spiritualism British  

/ ˈspɪrɪtjʊəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the belief that the disembodied spirits of the dead, surviving in another world, can communicate with the living in this world, esp through mediums

2. the doctrines and practices associated with this belief

3. philosophy the belief that because reality is to some extent immaterial it is therefore spiritual

4. any doctrine (in philosophy, religion, etc) that prefers the spiritual to the material

5. the condition or quality of being spiritual

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spiritualistically
  adverb
• spiritualistic
  adjective
• antispiritualism
  noun
• antispiritualistic
  adjective
• spiritualist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of spiritualism

First recorded in 1825–35; spiritual + -ism

Example Sentences

Late in life, Maggie Fox denounced the spiritualism movement that she and her sister Kate had helped start, demonstrating the ways in which they had fooled their audiences.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

This book by an Australian art critic turns a penetrating gaze on female artists who, in the 19th century and into the 20th, embraced spiritualism for sometimes uncertain reasons.

From New York Times • Jan. 11, 2024

“Personally, I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in god. I don’t believe in any religion. But I understand the power of spiritualism. For me, spiritualism is an emotion. And I write stories filled with emotions.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 20, 2022

Raised Baptist, Pettijohn eventually balanced mindfulness work with church, and attends Unity Church, which is a Christian denomination that emphasizes spiritualism and universalism.

From Washington Post • Jul. 4, 2022

Their testimony is very important, because they were the only members of the family who lived completely removed from the three-legged table, protected from magic and spiritualism by their rigid English boarding school.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende