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.

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.