soul
noun
\ ˈsōl
\
\
Definition of soul
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life
2a
: the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe
3
: a person's total self
4a
: an active or essential part
b
: a moving spirit : leader
5a
: the moral and emotional nature of human beings
b
: the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment
c
: spiritual or moral force : fervor
6
: person
not a soul in sight
7
: personification
she is the soul of integrity
8a
: a strong positive feeling (as of intense sensitivity and emotional fervor) conveyed especially by African American performers
b
: cultural consciousness and pride among people of African heritage
c
: soul music
d
: soul food
e
: soul brother
soul
adjectiveDefinition of soul (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of black Americans or their culture
2
: designed for or controlled by blacks
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Examples of soul in a Sentence
Noun
the souls of the dead He could not escape the guilt that he felt in the inner recesses of his soul. Some poor soul was asking for handouts on the street. a village of barely a hundred souls
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The conundrum continued last weekend with a soul-crushing sweep by the Nationals. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Cubs look closer to being dismantled in the offseason than they are to playing in the World Series," 26 Aug. 2019 American culture today can be overwhelming with noise and soul-crushing images. — Kathryn Jean Lopez, National Review, "Fifth Avenue, New York City," 22 Aug. 2019 Patriotic pride back in 1905 was mingled with shame, and soul-searching questions about why the Chinese were too dazzled by foreign goods to resist them for very long. — The Economist, "China’s thin-skinned online nationalists want to be both loved and feared by the West," 22 Aug. 2019 In a protest at the airport, demonstrators tied up and beat two men believed to be undercover mainland agents, an incident that has prompted soul-searching in the leaderless movement in recent days, and apologies from demonstrators. — Tripti Lahiri, Quartz, "China’s disinformation on Hong Kong protests is on Twitter and Facebook," 20 Aug. 2019 Setting all this grammatical soul-searching in motion was a global financial convulsion. — Fortune, "America’s CEOs Seek a New Purpose for the Corporation," 19 Aug. 2019 Franks started the 2017 season opener against Michigan as a redshirt freshman and was benched by former coach Jim McElwain for the first time during a soul-crushing season. — Edgar Thompson, orlandosentinel.com, "UF QB Emory Jones patiently waits his chance while earning respect of teammates," 10 Aug. 2019 Manx must feed off the souls of children, transforming them into little monsters. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Review: NOS4A2 is a haunting fable about the steep cost of creative gifts," 31 July 2019 But Cincinnati still has a lot of cleaning up and soul-searching to do in the aftermath of this fiasco. — Byron Mccauley, Cincinnati.com, "Tracie Hunter case: A miscarriage of justice or something else?," 22 July 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Learn soul line-dances choreographed to R&B, jazz, gospel and Latin tunes. — Linda Mcintosh, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Woman of the Year awards given," 9 July 2018 Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh threw for nine touchdowns and was named the game's MVP. — baltimoresun.com, "Digest (Aug. 12): Soul stops Brigade in playoff opener," 13 Aug. 2017 Harper’s Cabin Learn about the history, nutrition and culture of African American foods, and about how soul food became important to African American families, their churches and social gatherings. — Washington Post, "Montgomery County community calendar July 27-Aug. 3, 2017," 26 July 2017 Among its fans is soul artist Jimmy Levy of Miami, who was encouraged by his manager to try RecordGram, Mendelson said. — Nancy Dahlberg, miamiherald, "This Miami music startup brings a recording studio to your phone," 23 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'soul.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for soul
soul
noun
English Language Learners Definition of soul
: the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and in many religions is believed to live forever
: a person's deeply felt moral and emotional nature
: the ability of a person to feel kindness and sympathy for others, to appreciate beauty and art, etc.
See the full definition for soul in the English Language Learners Dictionary
soul
noun
\ ˈsōl
\
\
Kids Definition of soul
1
: the spiritual part of a person believed to give life to the body
2
: the essential or most important part of something
This room is the soul of the house.
3
: a person who leads or stirs others to action : leader
He was the soul of the campaign.
4
: a person's moral and emotional nature
I felt my soul rebel against the injustice.
5
: human being : person
a kind soul
6
: a style of music expressing deep emotion that was created by African-Americans