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⇱ soul - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

soul

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈsəʊl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/soʊl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(sōl)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
soul /soʊl/USA pronunciation   n. 
  1. Religion the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, thought of as something distinct or separate from the body;
    the spiritual part of humans:[countable]to have an immortal soul.
  2. Religion the spirit of a dead person:[countable]to summon the souls of the dead.
  3. a person:[countable]brave souls.
  4. the essential element, quality, or part of something:[countable]the soul of the Native American people.
  5. an excellent example of some quality:[countable;usually: the + ~ + of + object]He was the very soul of tact.
  6. the seat or place of human feelings or emotions:[countable]She has the soul of an artist.
  7. deeply or strongly felt emotion, as is conveyed by an artist:[uncountable]The painting has soul.
  8. [uncountable] (among African-Americans) shared ethnic awareness and pride.
  9. Music and Dancesoul music.

adj. [usually: before a noun]
  1. of or relating to African-Americans or their culture:Soul food is traditional black American food.
soul•less, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
soul (sōl),USA pronunciation 
  1. Religionthe 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.
  2. Religionthe 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.
  3. Religionthe disembodied spirit of a deceased person:He feared the soul of the deceased would haunt him.
  4. the emotional part of human nature;
    the seat of the feelings or sentiments.
  5. a human being;
    person.
  6. high-mindedness;
    noble warmth of feeling, spirit or courage, etc.
  7. the animating principle;
    the essential element or part of something.
  8. the inspirer or moving spirit of some action, movement, etc.
  9. the embodiment of some quality:He was the very soul of tact.
  10. Religion(cap.) [Christian Science.]God;
    the divine source of all identity and individuality.
  11. shared ethnic awareness and pride among black people, esp. black Americans.
  12. deeply felt emotion, as conveyed or expressed by a performer or artist.
  13. Music and DanceSee soul music. 

adj. 
  1. of, characteristic of, or for black Americans or their culture:soul newspapers.
  • bef. 900; Middle English; Old English sāwl, sāwol; cognate with Dutch ziel, German Seele, Old Norse sāl, Gothic saiwala
soul′like′, adj. 
    1. spirit. 4. heart. 7. essence, core, heart.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
soul /səʊl/ n
  1. the spirit or immaterial part of human beings, the seat of human personality, intellect, will, and emotions, regarded as an entity that survives the body after death
  2. the spiritual part of a person, capable of redemption from the power of sin through divine grace
  3. the essential part or fundamental nature of anything
  4. a person's feelings or moral nature as distinct from other faculties
    • Also called: soul music a type of Black music resulting from the addition of jazz, gospel, and pop elements to the urban blues style
    • (as modifier): a soul singer
  6. (modifier) of or relating to Black Americans and their culture: soul brother, soul food
  7. nobility of spirit or temperament: a man of great soul and courage
  8. an inspiring spirit or leading figure, as of a cause or movement
  9. a person regarded as typifying some characteristic or quality: the soul of discretion
  10. a person; individual: an honest soul
  11. the life and soul ⇒
  12. upon my soul! ⇒ an exclamation of surprise
Etymology: Old English sāwol; related to Old Frisian sēle, Old Saxon sēola, Old High German sēula soul
'soul' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: a [kind, brave, gentle] soul, soul [music, singer, man, sister, food], you poor soul, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "soul" in the title:

...spared what only the most generous soul would call his life
’Thou hast shaved many a poor soul close enough
(My) body (is) here, (my) soul (is) there.
A body (heart) and soul doctor?
a brand in the soul
a busy proper advisory soul
a death... hairball? Prepare... to evacuate soul
a fall in opposite: a <soul>.
a glimpse of <the> soul
a happy little soul
a kernel of self-awareness not unlike the soul that was
A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people: soul vs souls
A soul seer
a soul to man
a soul-healing movie
a soul-steeped voice
a soul?
a sympathetic soul
"A well" I bless my soul
All the soul of man is resolution, which in valiant men falters never, until their last breath
an incest of the soul
an opening <salvo> in <a battle for the soul of America>
and no soul remembered is ever really gone
are soul-enemies
Are you trying to steal his soul before he hits puberty?
As a felt movement of body and soul
as if didn't have/hadn't had a soul
At the bottom of his soul, <not allowed to shape itself into words> was the conviction
Be led by your heart and soul
before she can make a soul hear her outdoors
more...

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