Spirits — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun noun phrase plural noun phrase /ˈspir-ət/

Meaning & Definition of Spirits

Spirits (verb)

  1. to infuse with spirit; especially, animate
  2. to carry off usually secretly or mysteriously

Spirits (noun)

  1. an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms
  2. a supernatural being or essence
  3. holy spirit
  4. a petroleum distillate that is used especially as a paint or varnish thinner
  5. ethanol of 190 or higher proof used especially for blending other alcoholic liquors

Spirits (noun phrase)

  1. turpentine
  2. rectified spirit, alcohol

Spirits (plural noun)

  1. the nervous energy that is the source of physical sensation and movement
  2. vivacity arising from physical health and energy
  3. emotional feelings and desires (such as an optimistic willingness to take positive action) that influence the economic behavior of consumers and investors
  4. strong distilled liquors

Spirits (phrase)

  1. —used to say that a person feels happier
  2. very happy and excited

Spirits (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a distilled beverage that can make a person drunk

    "a hotel bar that's well stocked with spirits"

    similar: alcohol, aqua vitae, ardent spirits, booze, bottle, drink, firewater, grog, hooch (slang), inebriant, intoxicant, John Barleycorn, juice (slang), liquor, lush (slang), moonshine, potable, rum, sauce (slang), stimulant, strong drink, tipple
    related: aperitif, bracer, chaser, digestif, nightcap, belt, load, nip, peg (British), pop, shooter, shot, slug, snifter, snort, tot, whet, cocktail, mixed drink, ale, beer, brew, brewage, brewski (slang), home brew, malt liquor, microbrew, mum, nappy (chiefly Scottish), mead, sake, wine, barley-bree (chiefly Scottish), brandy, gin, liqueur, mao-tai, mescal, schnapps, tequila, vodka, whiskey, Dutch courage
    opposite: nonintoxicant

Spirits (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. as in snatches, absconds (with)

    similar: absconds (with), snatches, captures, crimps, impresses, seizes, shanghais, waylays, hijacks, abducts, kidnaps, catches, cops (slang), steals, takes
    opposite: delivers, ransoms, redeems, rescues, restores, returns

Related Entry: Spirit (noun)

Spirit is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for spirit, not for spirits.

  1. an immaterial force within a human being thought to give the body life, energy, and power

    "the theological and philosophical belief that the spirit is superior to the body"

    similar: psyche, soul
    related: life, vitality, being, essence, quintessence
    near: body, flesh

  2. a state of mind dominated by a particular emotion

    "had been in a combative spirit all week"

    similar: cheer, feather, humor, mode, mood, temper, frame of mind
    related: angle, attitude, mind-set, outlook, perspective, slant, standpoint, viewpoint, emotion, feeling, heart, passion, sentiment, strain, belief, conviction, judgment, mind, opinion, expression, tone, vein, character, disposition, identity, individuality, makeup, mettle, personality, selfhood, self-identity, temperament, responsiveness, sensibility, sensitiveness, sensitivity

  3. the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people

    "Hamlet's late father appears to him in the form of a spirit and with the revelation that he was in fact murdered"

    similar: apparition, bogey, familiar spirit, ghost, hant (dialect), haunt (chiefly dialect), materialization, phantasm, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, specter, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith
    related: angel, daimon, familiar, genie, genius, jinni, shaitan, double, doppelgänger, fetch, lemures, manes, incubus, lamia, succubus, vampire, zombie, cacodemon, demon, devil, fiend, ghoul, imp

  4. a distilled beverage that can make a person drunk

    "a hotel bar that's well stocked with spirits"

    similar: alcohol, aqua vitae, ardent spirits, booze, bottle, drink, firewater, grog, hooch (slang), inebriant, intoxicant, John Barleycorn, juice (slang), liquor, lush (slang), moonshine, potable, rum, sauce (slang), stimulant, strong drink, tipple
    related: aperitif, bracer, chaser, digestif, nightcap, belt, load, nip, peg (British), pop, shooter, shot, slug, snifter, snort, tot, whet, cocktail, mixed drink, ale, beer, brew, brewage, brewski (slang), home brew, malt liquor, microbrew, mum, nappy (chiefly Scottish), mead, sake, wine, barley-bree (chiefly Scottish), brandy, gin, liqueur, mao-tai, mescal, schnapps, tequila, vodka, whiskey, Dutch courage
    opposite: nonintoxicant
    near: mocktail, mix, mixer, pop, soda, soda pop, soft drink

Related Entry: Spirits (away or off) (verb)

Spirits (away or off) is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for spirits (away or off), not for spirits.

  1. as in kidnaps, abducts

    similar: abducts, kidnaps, enmeshes, ensnares, entangles, entraps, meshes, rends, wrests, clasps, clutches, fastens (on), fists, grasps, grips, holds, latches (on or onto), secures, bays, corners, apprehends, arrests, detains, gloves, halters, lassos, ropes, bags, captures, catches, collars, cops (slang), corrals, gets, gloms, grabs, grapples, hooks, lands, nabs, nails, nets, nobbles (British slang), raps, seizes, snags, snaps (up), snares, snatches, traps
    opposite: misses, discharges, frees, liberates, releases, drops, loosens, unhands

Related Entry: Ardent spirits (plural noun)

Ardent spirits is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for ardent spirits, not for spirits.

  1. a distilled beverage that can make a person drunk

    "a pro-temperance political cartoon from the 1920s that depicted the evils of ardent spirits"

    similar: alcohol, aqua vitae, booze, bottle, drink, firewater, grog, hooch (slang), inebriant, intoxicant, John Barleycorn, juice (slang), liquor, lush (slang), moonshine, potable, rum, sauce (slang), spirits, stimulant, strong drink, tipple
    related: aperitif, bracer, chaser, digestif, nightcap, belt, load, nip, peg (British), pop, shooter, shot, slug, snifter, snort, tot, whet, cocktail, mixed drink, ale, beer, brew, brewage, brewski (slang), home brew, malt liquor, microbrew, mum, nappy (chiefly Scottish), mead, sake, wine, barley-bree (chiefly Scottish), brandy, gin, liqueur, mao-tai, mescal, schnapps, tequila, vodka, whiskey, Dutch courage
    opposite: nonintoxicant
    near: mocktail, mix, mixer, pop, soda, soda pop, soft drink

Related Entry: Animal spirits (plural noun)

Animal spirits is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for animal spirits, not for spirits.

  1. as in spirit, spunkiness

    similar: animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity, determination, perseverance, resolution, ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, courage, courageousness, guts, gutsiness, heart, intestinal fortitude, nerve, backbone, fiber, fortitude, grit, gumption, pluck, pluckiness, spunk, temper, beans, bounce, brio, chutzpah, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, starch, verve, vigor, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip, main, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength
    opposite: cowardice, cowardliness, cravenness, dastardliness, poltroonery, spinelessness, cold feet, faintheartedness, fearfulness, mousiness, timidity, timorousness, debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness

Related Entry: Familiar spirits (noun)

Familiar spirits is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for familiar spirits, not for spirits.

  1. the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people

    "asked the spiritualist to summon the familiar spirit of her late mother for some matrimonial guidance"

    similar: apparitions, bogeys, ghosts, hants (dialect), haunts (chiefly dialect), materializations, phantasms, phantoms, poltergeists, shades, shadows, specters, spirits, spooks, sprites, visions, visitants, wraiths
    related: angels, daimones, familiars, genies, geniuses, jinn, shaitans, doppelgängers, doubles, fetches, lemures, manes, incubi, lamiae, succubi, vampires, zombies, cacodemons, demons, devils, fiends, ghouls, imps

Related Entry: Free spirits (noun)

Free spirits is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for free spirits, not for spirits.

  1. a person who does not conform to generally accepted standards or customs

    "an artistically inclined free spirit who felt alienated and stifled while growing up in a small town"

    similar: bohemians, bohos, counterculturists, deviants, enfants terribles, heretics, iconoclasts, individualists, lone rangers, loners, lone wolves, mavericks, nonconformers, nonconformists
    related: freethinkers, characters, codgers, crackbrains, crackpots, cranks, eccentrics, freaks, kooks, nuts, oddballs, screwballs, weirdos, eight balls, misfits, outsiders, aberrants, anomalies
    opposite: conformers, conformists
    near: adherents, followers, supporters, sheep

Related Entry: Familiar spirit (noun)

Familiar spirit is a different word from Spirits. The synonyms below are for familiar spirit, not for spirits.

  1. the soul of a dead person thought of especially as appearing to living people

    "asked the spiritualist to summon the familiar spirit of her late mother for some matrimonial guidance"

    similar: apparition, bogey, ghost, hant (dialect), haunt (chiefly dialect), materialization, phantasm, phantom, poltergeist, shade, shadow, specter, spirit, spook, sprite, vision, visitant, wraith
    related: angel, daimon, familiar, genie, genius, jinni, shaitan, double, doppelgänger, fetch, lemures, manes, incubus, lamia, succubus, vampire, zombie, cacodemon, demon, devil, fiend, ghoul, imp

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Spirits

The most common words with a similar meaning to Spirits:

Slang: hooch, juice, lush, sauce, cops
alcohol, aqua vitae, ardent spirits, booze, bottle, drink, firewater, grog, inebriant, intoxicant, John Barleycorn, liquor, moonshine, potable, rum, stimulant, strong drink, tipple, absconds (with), snatches, captures, crimps, impresses, seizes, shanghais, waylays, hijacks, abducts, kidnaps, catches, steals, takes

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Spirits

Words with the opposite meaning of Spirits:

nonintoxicant, delivers, ransoms, redeems, rescues, restores, returns

Related Words for Spirits

aperitif, bracer, chaser, digestif, nightcap, belt, load, nip, peg, pop, shooter, shot, slug, snifter, snort, tot, whet, cocktail, mixed drink, ale, beer, brew, brewage, brewski, home brew, malt liquor, microbrew, mum, nappy, mead

Word Forms of Spirits

Inflections: spirited, spiriting

Origin & Etymology of Spirits

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Latin; Anglo-French, espirit, spirit, from Latin spiritus, literally, breath, from spirare to blow, breathe

First known use: 1598

Words & Phrases Containing Spirits

spirits of turpentine, spirits of wine, animal spirits, ardent spirits, mineral spirits, neutral spirits, his/her/their/my/our spirits rise, in high spirits

Frequently Asked Questions about Spirits

What does "Spirits" mean?

"Spirits" means to infuse with spirit; especially, animate. As an a verb, a noun, a noun phrase, a plural noun and a phrase, it is defined as: to infuse with spirit; especially, animate. It has 2 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Spirits"?

Other words for "Spirits" include alcohol, aqua vitae, ardent spirits, booze, bottle, drink, firewater and grog. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Spirits" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Spirits"?

There are 80 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Spirits". Common alternatives include alcohol, aqua vitae, ardent spirits, booze, bottle, drink, firewater, grog, hooch and inebriant.

What is a slang word for "Spirits"?

Slang words for "Spirits" include hooch, juice, lush, sauce and cops.

What is the opposite of "Spirits"?

Antonyms of "Spirits" include nonintoxicant, delivers, ransoms, redeems, rescues, restores and returns.

How do you use "Spirits" in a sentence?

Examples of "Spirits" in a sentence: "a hotel bar that's well stocked with spirits".

Is "Spirits" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Spirits" can be used as a verb, a noun, a noun phrase, a plural noun and a phrase, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Spirits"?

"Spirits" is pronounced /ˈspir-ət/.