spiritualistic

8.2

Beliefs and practices that try to contact spirits or the dead

adjective
/ˌspɪrɪtʃuəˈlɪstɪk/

: espiritualista

Did the loss of a loved one make a person more sensitive to spiritualistic phenomena?

Examples

In her lecture, the professor discussed spiritualistic concepts and their impact on modern psychology.
Baudelaire speaks of the arabesque in the Intimate Journals as "the most spiritualistic of designs."

Academic text (2010)
This, according to Haar, would be due to the still metaphysical and spiritualistic fear of an "animalization" or "naturalization."

Academic text (2017)
What works like these have in common is an agonistic tone, a didactic purpose, a spiritualistic symbolism, and a soteriological teleology.

Academic text (1998)
In most versions, this principle is teleological and spiritualistic; that is, the universe is conceived as evolving toward some higher, ultimate state of spiritual and/or social perfection.

Academic text (2002)
The episode demonstrates the depth of the Nicholses’ Spiritualist convictions as well as their prominence in the transatlantic Spiritualistic community.

Academic text (2018)
Many people are drawn to spiritualistic practices when they seek comfort after a loss.
The novel explores spiritualistic themes, illustrating how beliefs about the afterlife influence characters' decisions.

Synonyms

spiritual

vsspiritualistic

660 4.8

Relating to the soul and to religion

is specific to the organized movement and its practices about spirit belief

spiritualist

vsspiritualistic

1 8.6

Relating to the belief that the spirits of the dead can talk to the living

is broader, referring to the movement and its general beliefs and practices

mediumistic

vsspiritualistic

1 9.9

Relating to a person who says they can speak to spirits

is broader, covering the movement and its beliefs rather than the person

supernaturalist

vsspiritualistic

1 9.0

Relating to belief in powers that are not part of nature

is about a particular movement focused on spirit communication rather than general supernatural belief

spiritist

vsspiritualistic

9.3

Relating to practices that try to contact dead people

is about the general movement and beliefs rather than a single organized group

supernaturalistic

vsspiritualistic

9.9

Relating to belief in ghosts, spirits, or forces beyond nature

is specific to a movement about contacting the dead rather than general otherworldly belief

Antonyms

materialistic

23 6.1

Liking money and things more than ideas or feelings

How Spiritual

mystical

106 7.1

spiritual

660 4.8

spiritualistic

8.2

religious

∞ 2.7

secular

143 4.7

Surface Forms

spiritualistic positive

Morphology

spiritualistic = spiritual (semi-transparent) = spiritual + istic

Formed by adding the adjective-forming suffix '-istic' to 'spiritual'; the resulting word commonly refers specifically to the movement 'spiritualism', so the relation is not purely literal.

Etymology

Spiritualistic comes from spirit, a word that originally meant 'breath' or 'soul', and the ending -istic, which means 'relating to' or 'like'. So, spiritualistic describes beliefs or practices about spirits and the ways people try to contact the dead.