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.
What good is it to gain the world and forfeit your soul?”
From Los Angeles Times
They often abandon traditional pop music structures, they don’t shy away from abrasive arrangements, and Ayewa’s lyricism speaks directly to the soul.
From Los Angeles Times
But the sensation they were feeling—that chafing, persistent yearning for something to soothe their weary soul—was often confused with dehydration.
From Literature
“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.”
In “Ready or Not,” Weaving’s blushing bride-to-be, Grace, discovers that she’s marrying into a family of devil-worshippers who sold their souls for eternal wealth, and they must sacrifice her to keep the money rolling in.
From Salon
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.
