as in hymns
a religious song
sang a spiritual at the funeral
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spirituals
The work, which King has described as a meditation on love, resilience and inner-strength, is set to Black spirituals and Jewish liturgical music, features vocals by the great singer Lisa Fischer and a score by piano great Jason Moran, artists with whom the collab-happy King has worked before.
—
Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
The music, much of it consisting of Shaker spirituals rearranged by Daniel Blumberg (who won an Oscar for last year’s The Brutalist, directed by Fastvold’s husband and co-writer Brady Corbet), is lyrical, emotional, sometimes even angry.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Randy McMullen, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
The music, much of it consisting of Shaker spirituals rearranged by Daniel Blumberg (who won an Oscar for last year’s The Brutalist, directed by Fastvold’s husband and co-writer Brady Corbet), is lyrical, emotional, sometimes even angry.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spirituals
Noun
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Attendees bowed their head in prayer and sang along to hymns, while posters of Kirk lined the seats.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
22 Sep. 2025
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The crowd sang along to familiar hymns, with many raising their hands in praise and swaying to the rhythm.—
Amanda Castro
Mandy Taheri
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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On the menu for the first week of DWTS was a collection of Latin ballroom dances set to the contestants' personal anthems.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
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Sabrina Carpenter wants to keep releasing pop anthems that keep her on the charts; Boeing wants to keep selling enough planes to stay in the S&P 500.—
Alex Mayyasi,
NPR,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Revered by all three Abrahamic religions, the psalms were often recited, read, and sung in routine worship.—
Brendan Ruberry,
semafor.com,
23 Sep. 2025
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Kretzmer-Seed felt strongly about the inclusion of psalms from the Hallel service as well as a Spanish-Portuguese prayer for those in captivity, which was originally written for victims of the Spanish Inquisition.—
Marla Brown Fogelman,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spirituals.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spirituals. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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