soul
Americannoun
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the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.
- Synonyms:
- spirit
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the spiritual part of humans regarded in its moral aspect, or as believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come.
arguing the immortality of the soul.
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the disembodied spirit of a deceased person.
He feared the soul of the deceased would haunt him.
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the emotional part of human nature; the seat of the feelings or sentiments.
- Synonyms:
- heart
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a human being; person.
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high-mindedness; noble warmth of feeling, spirit or courage, etc.
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the animating principle; the essential element or part of something.
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the inspirer or moving spirit of some action, movement, etc.
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the embodiment of some quality.
He was the very soul of tact.
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(initial capital letter) God; the divine source of all identity and individuality.
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shared ethnic awareness and pride among Black people, especially Black Americans.
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deeply felt emotion, as conveyed or expressed by a performer or artist.
adjective
noun
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the spirit or immaterial part of man, the seat of human personality, intellect, will, and emotions, regarded as an entity that survives the body after death
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Christianity the spiritual part of a person, capable of redemption from the power of sin through divine grace
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the essential part or fundamental nature of anything
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a person's feelings or moral nature as distinct from other faculties
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Also called: soul music. a type of Black music resulting from the addition of jazz, gospel, and pop elements to the urban blues style
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( as modifier )
a soul singer
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(modifier) of or relating to Black Americans and their culture
soul brother
soul food
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nobility of spirit or temperament
a man of great soul and courage
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an inspiring spirit or leading figure, as of a cause or movement
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a person regarded as typifying some characteristic or quality
the soul of discretion
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a person; individual
an honest soul
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See life
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an exclamation of surprise
noun
Other Word Forms
- soul-like adjective
- soullike adjective
- undersoul noun
Etymology
Origin of soul
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sāwl, sāwol; cognate with Dutch ziel, German Seele, Old Norse sāl, Gothic saiwala
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.
The 10 songs on “The Line of Time and the Plane of Now” — each recorded in only one take — mix folk, soul and jazz, radiating innocence.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
“But I’m also a human, and I see the spirit in their eyes that is burning in my soul too. And so we’ve just got to never stop going.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
"Amy was bubbly, caring and honest," he said, adding she was "soft hearted and the life and soul".
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
I wanted to know how on Earth he could know that before I’d told a soul.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
