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soul
noun as in psyche, inspiration, energy
Strongest matches
conscience, courage, ego, feeling, genius, heart, intellect, intelligence, life, mind, personality, spirit, stuff, thought, vitality
Strong matches
anima, animation, animus, ardor, bosom, bottom, breast, cause, disposition, essence, fervor, force, individuality, marrow, nobility, noumenon, pith, principle, quintessence, reason, substance, vivacity
Weak matches
animating principle, breath of life, élan vital, pneuma, recesses of heart, secret self, spiritual being, vital force
Example Sentences
The Senate likes to call itself “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” and the filibuster, at least in myth, is the soul of that deliberation.
Likewise, when celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, of Ethiopian and Swedish descent, opened soul food restaurant Red Rooster in Harlem, New York, in 2010, some criticized it for contributing to gentrification by catering to outsiders.
All the same, Stone Locals is a compelling depiction of the soul of the sport.
As a Belarusian citizen, my heart hurts, and my soul is tired.
We started with a major open space idea as we sculpted our plan, and it has now rightfully emerged as the soul of the project.
Education controls the transmission of values and molds the spirit before dominating the soul.
But damn, the music is catchy—a neo-soul aural assault of horns, electro swirls, yelps, funky basslines, and harmonized vocals.
Ragtime, blues, country, jazz, soul, and rock and roll were all pioneered or inspired by black artists.
The gathering of the thousands of cops had been a soul-stirring sight.
You mix up English working-class gruffness with African-American soul from the Deep South.
But the liberal soul deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall he stand.
Words are often everywhere as the minute-hands of the soul, more important than even the hour-hands of action.
Monotheism is strictly inconsistent with the supremacy of “merits” which is the very soul of Oriental religion.
Some critics feel that, despite much that is desirable in her work, the soul is lacking in the women she paints.
David says, that his soul was full of trouble, and his life drew near unto the grave.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is another word for a soul?
The literal meaning of the word soul is the spirit that’s believed to inhabit a person separate from their body—the spiritual self, as opposed to the physical self (this sense is reflected in the phrase body and soul).
In this sense, some believe the soul survives after the death of the body—in a form we might call a spirit or ghost.
Some people associate the soul with a person’s inner self or essence, or perhaps their personality, ego, or psyche.
Soul is often also used in figurative and metaphorical ways.
The phrase soul-searching means contemplating what a person feels in their heart (in the figurative sense) or conscience.
Soul is sometimes used as a way to refer to a person, as in Not a soul was left on board.
Expressions like old soul and creative soul emphasize a person’s sensibilities.
To say that someone has soul often means that they have spirit, courage, and passion. Someone who’s described as soulful is passionate or expressive.
Sometimes, soul is used to refer to the core or driving force behind something. This sometimes refers to a person, as in Kate is the soul of this operation. Heart is sometimes used in the same way, as is the phrase heart and soul.
Much more specifically, soul is often used to describe things involving Black American culture, such as soul food. The word soul is commonly used as a short way of referring to soul music.
What is the difference between soul and spirit?
Soul and spirit are used interchangeably in many contexts.
In some cases, though, they have different shades of meaning or are used in ways that are different altogether. Much of the time, the word soul is more intense. For example, the spirit of the nation might refer to the prevailing attitude, while the soul of the nation usually refers to something deeper—the core beliefs and values of its people. Similarly, saying that someone has spirit often means that they have a good attitude and pluck, while saying that a person has soul is similar but deeper and more intense. Use of the words differs in different ways in different contexts.
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
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