Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
numinous

numinous

4 9.9
A strong feeling that something is holy and full of mystery
  • adjective
  • /ˈnjuːmɪnəs/
  • Literature
translation icon : numinoso
  • The emphasis was on expressive worship and the intense, unmediated experience of the numinous.
  • numinous or holy
  • numinous power
  • numinous experience

What the massive sulking earth makes darkness from what numinous abyss it hides, what secrets buried unfold there?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • I call it awe, but it invokes in Sarewitz feelings that are numinous and spiritual.

    Blog text (8)

  • There are moments when the body is as numinous as words, days that are the good flesh continuing.

    Blog text (26)

  • And this sense that poets and people in the spiritual traditions have talked about, this sense of the numinous is the characteristic experience of childhood.

  • Jung (1938-1940) presents a psychological interpretation of Otto's notion of the numinous or holy.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The ineffable (or "numinous," to use Otto's term) is both mysterium fascinans and mysterium tremendum.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The cathedral had a numinous atmosphere that made everyone feel like they were in the presence of something divine.

  • As she stood on the mountaintop, she felt a numinous connection to the universe that filled her with awe.

  • Many visitors leave the ancient temple with a sense of the numinous, touched by the sacred energy they perceive there.

Synonyms

mystical
vsnuminous
106 7.1

Having a spiritual quality that feels beyond normal understanding

emphasizes a sensed sacred presence that inspires awe or mystery
divine
vsnuminous
68 5.0

Extremely good or beautiful, as if from the gods

emphasizes a sacred, awe inspiring presence rather than mere beauty or delight
spiritual
vsnuminous
  • Literature
28 7.0

Appearing like a ghost

points to a felt sacred or divine presence that creates awe and mystery
supernal
vsnuminous
  • Literature
1 9.9

Having a beautiful, heavenly look or sound that feels holy

focuses on sacred presence and inspiring awe rather than just celestial origin

How Sacred

divine
218 5.3
numinous
  • Literature
4 9.9
sacred
218 4.3
spiritual
660 4.8

Surface Forms

numinous positive

Morphology

numinous = numen (transparent) = numin + ous

The adjective is formed by a regular suffixation of -ous to the base 'numen', yielding 'having a divine or spiritual quality'.

Etymology

Numinous comes from the old Latin word numen, which meant a god's 'nod', a sign of a 'divine presence'. So something numinous feels like that quiet, powerful 'divine presence' that fills you with awe and mystery.