spiritualism

UK: /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəlɪzəm/

US: /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəˌlɪzəm/

US: (spir′i cho̅o̅ ə liz′əm)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

spir•it•u•al•ism /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəˌlɪzəm/   n. [uncountable]

1. the belief that the spirits of the dead communicate with the living, esp. through a person (a medium).
2. the practices or events associated with this belief.

spir•it•u•al•ist, n. [countable]
spir•it•u•al•is•tic, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

spir•it•u•al•ism  (spir′i cho̅o̅ ə liz′əm), n. 

1. the belief or doctrine that the spirits of the dead, surviving after the mortal life, can and do communicate with the living, esp. through a person (a medium) particularly susceptible to their influence.
2. the practices or phenomena associated with this belief.
3. the belief that all reality is spiritual.
4. Philosophy [Metaphys.] any of various doctrines maintaining that the ultimate reality is spirit or mind.
5. spiritual quality or tendency.
6. insistence on the spiritual side of things, as in philosophy or religion.

• spiritual + -ism 1825–35

spir′it•u•al•is′tic, adj. 
spir′it•u•al•is′ti•cal•ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

spiritualism / ˈspɪrɪtjʊəˌlɪzəm/ noun

1. the belief that the disembodied spirits of the dead, surviving in another world, can communicate with the living in this world, esp through mediums
2. the doctrines and practices associated with this belief
3. the belief that because reality is to some extent immaterial it is therefore spiritual
4. any doctrine (in philosophy, religion, etc) that prefers the spiritual to the material

ˈspiritualist noun