soul mate

noun

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of soul mate

1 : a person who is perfectly suited to another in temperament

2 : a person who strongly resembles another in attitudes or beliefs

ideological soul mates

See soul mate defined for English-language learners

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Examples of soul mate in a Sentence

a husband and wife who are perfect soul mates
They are ideological soul mates.

Recent Examples of soul mate from the Web

Haigh initially appears to be priming us for a generic fable about a lonely boy who befriends a gruff but kindly father figure, discovers his equine soul mate, and wins the racing sweepstakes.

— peter rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Lean on Pete' is a tale of a boy and his horse," 6 Apr. 2018
For their part, the Penan looked at Bruno as a brother and soul mate, in a way.

— National Geographic, "Two Men Set Out To Find Borneo’s Jungle Tribes. One Never Came Back.," 10 Mar. 2018
Her soul mate, Rafael, is a roguish hotel heir—and the show gives him meaningful competition, in the form of a nice-guy detective, Michael, whom Jane eventually marries.

— steven strogatz, The New Yorker, "“Jane the Virgin” Is Not a Guilty Pleasure," 6 Mar. 2018
On May 21, 1953 Beverly married her friend and soul mate, Norman Jean, and the two began their journey together.

— courant.com, "Jean J. Beverly," 1 Feb. 2018
But, alternatively, what if your seat neighbor is your new best friend, or future business partner or soul mate?

— david g. allan, CNN, "One person's electronics ban is that same person's needed respite," 28 Feb. 2018
South Florida Jewish singles recently gathered at a soiree in Miami Beach in an effort to discover ways to meet their soul mate.

— sergio carmona, Jewish Journal, "South Beach soiree attracts Jewish singles looking for love," 7 Feb. 2018
After marrying his soul mate on January 13, 1951, Joe and Rose made their home in Hartford raising their three daughters, eventually moving to Wethersfield.

— courant.com, "Joseph Civitillo," 5 Feb. 2018
An all-seeing Jupiter suggests that many Bulls will find soul mates and many will sign contracts of one kind or another.

— minerva, San Francisco Chronicle, "Minerva’s astrological predictions for 2018," 4 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'soul mate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

soul mate and Poetry

The earliest known use of soul mate is found in an 1822 letter from English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge to "a Young Lady" in which he writes, "To be happy in Marriage Life, nay … in order not to be miserable, you must have a Soul-mate as well as a House or a Yoke-mate…." The word yokemate is used to refer to someone who is figuratively yoked to another, such as a close associate or companion, or, as Coleridge uses the word, a spouse. Coleridge's advice to the recipient of his letter, then, is that she should not simply settle for a husband, but rather for a person whose character and sensibilities are of a nature suitable to her own. Soul mate is now often used by English speakers to describe those with whom our bonds of affection are marked by a strong sense of like-mindedness and intertwined affinities.