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Glite Dictionary
shamanist

shamanist

9.9
Relating to people who connect with spirits and their ceremonies
  • adjective
  • /ˈʃɑːməˌnɪst/
translation icon : chamánico
  • Her writing is deeply influenced by shamanist traditions and rituals.

Examples

  • Many of the shamanist ceremonies focus on healing and connecting with nature.

  • The community held a festival celebrating shamanist practices and beliefs.

  • The poet robbed of shamanist centrality and the soldier shuttled between war-fighting and peacekeeping are both in the midst of redefining vocational identity.

    Academic text (2002)

Synonyms

shamanic
vsshamanist
3 7.8

Related to people who talk to spirits and lead healing ceremonies

focuses on general practices rather than on particular people
shamanistic
vsshamanist
1 9.9

Relating to shamans and their spiritual healing rituals

emphasizes practices and rituals rather than personal traits

Surface Forms

shamanist positive

Morphology

shamanist = shaman (transparent) = shaman + ist

The adjective is transparently formed from the noun 'shaman' plus the productive suffix '-ist' meaning 'relating to' or 'practitioner of', so learners familiar with 'shaman' can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Shamanist comes from shaman, a word from Siberia that meant 'one who knows' or a 'spirit helper'. A shamanist practice is connected to those spirit-healing traditions, so the origin helps you remember it means 'relating to shamanism'.