Spirituality
Definitions and Samples
1. agnostic adj. Believing that humans cannot know whether there is
a god
His devoutly Christian parents had problems with his agnostic beliefs.
Parts of speech agnostic n, agnosticism n
2. animism n. The belief that natural objects, such as trees, have souls
Desert cultures that practice animism often believe that winds contain
spirits.
Parts of speech animistic adj
3. atheist n. One who does not believe in the existence of a supreme being
He argued that his scientific training made it impossible for him to
be anything but an atheist.
Parts of speech atheistic adj
4. be inclined to v. To favor an opinion or a course of action
He couldn’t say which candidate he favored, but he had always
been inclined to vote Republican.
Parts of speech incline n, inclination n
5. contemplate v. To consider thoughtfully
If you contemplate each step for so long, we will never complete this
project on time.
Parts of speech contemplation n, contemplative adj
6. deify v. To worship as a god
When people deify the leader of their country, the leader is able to
abuse power more easily.
Parts of speech deity n
7. ecclesiastical adj. Relating to a church
He was looking specifically for a university where he could study
ecclesiastical history.
Parts of speech ecclesiastic n, ecclesiastically adv
8. exalt v. To praise or honor
He would often exalt the virtues of his new wife.
Parts of speech exaltation n
9. pious adj. Having or exhibiting religious reverence
Sometimes she was so pious that the rest of us felt like heathens.
Parts of speech piousness n, piety n, piously adv
10. sacrifice v. Anything offered to a deity as a religious thanksgiving;
giving up something in order to have something more valuable
later on
Every harvest time, the Fadeloni people sacrificed vegetables to
their gods as a show of thanks.