to spirit
- verb
- /ˈspɪrɪt/
- The uplifting speech spirited the audience, filling them with a renewed sense of hope and excitement.
Examples
-
He wanted the bride's side to rise up as one and spirit her away.
Fiction book (1991) -
She had spirited him away from misery, and now every move she made, every word she spoke, was designed to make him feel better and to encourage him to forget.
Fiction book (1990) -
Arians also said Monday's practice was spirited, crediting the players for their hard work.
Blog text (16) -
"Yesterday's practice was as spirited a Sunday practice as we've had in quite some time," Kansas coach Charlie Weis said on Monday's teleconference call.
Blog text (2) -
The coach inspired the team to believe they could win, spiriting them to play their best in the final game.
-
She used music to spirit the children away into a world of imagination during story time.
Synonyms
To make someone feel happier
Make someone feel happier and full of energy
Make a room feel happy and friendly when someone arrives
To make someone feel happier when they are sad
Help someone feel happier
To give someone energy, courage, or determination
To give people a strong feeling of spiritual power
Antonyms
Phrasal Verbs
- Literature
To take someone or something away quickly and secretly, often in a mysterious way
To make people in a town or neighbourhood feel closer and more willing to help each other
Compounds
The presence of God that Christians believe works in the world to guide and comfort people
A feeling of pride and responsibility for your town that makes you help improve it
- Literature
A spirit without a body that appears to people or stays near places
- UK
A tool with a closed tube and a bubble to check if surfaces like a shelf are flat or upright
- Archaic
A liquid made of alcohol and camphor used to rub on the skin or breathe in for cough relief
A strong feeling of people working together and being determined in hard times
Alcohol made unsafe to drink by adding poisons and used for cleaning or as a fuel
- Slang
A joking way to show strong American pride, for example with flags and eagles
- Specialized
A liquid with fifty percent alcohol that serves as a standard for measuring alcohol strength
- Archaic
A person who makes knocking sounds and says they are messages from the dead
- Specialized
A poisonous alcohol people make by heating wood, used as fuel or solvent
A determined, practical way of working hard and never giving up, often linked to people from the northern United States
How Lively
- Informal
Surface Forms
Etymology
Spirit as a verb links to the same root spir- 'to breathe', just like in inspire, so it carries the idea of giving life or energy. That's why to spirit someone is to fill them with liveliness, courage, or enthusiasm.