spiritualism
Americannoun
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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.
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the practices or phenomena associated with this belief.
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the belief that all reality is spiritual.
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Metaphysics. any of various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind.
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spiritual quality or tendency.
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insistence on the spiritual side of things, as in philosophy or religion.
noun
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the belief that the disembodied spirits of the dead, surviving in another world, can communicate with the living in this world, esp through mediums
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the doctrines and practices associated with this belief
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philosophy the belief that because reality is to some extent immaterial it is therefore spiritual
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any doctrine (in philosophy, religion, etc) that prefers the spiritual to the material
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the condition or quality of being spiritual
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of spiritualism
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.
What she shows us is a woman whose spiritualism, stage presence and charisma propelled her into a place of celebrity and fame that became a trap.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
Their mission: Finding myriad ways to convey how faith and spiritualism, in their many forms, manifested themselves around the world in 2023.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 18, 2023
As explained by History.com, a British editor named William Stead, who believed in early 20th century spiritualism and was a Titanic passenger, spread a rumor that a cursed mummy was causing inexplicable destruction around London.
From Salon • Apr. 15, 2023
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
The three Mora sisters were students of spiritualism and supernatural phenomena.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
