n. 1 anima, breath, life, vitality, vital spirit, pneuma, soul, consciousness, psyche, self, heart, essence Though past eighty, Mr Wilkins has a great deal of spirit Even though she is gone, Annabel's spirit is still with us. 2 character, temperament, temper, persona, disposition, mind, will, will-power, attitude, bent, inclination, energy, ardour, desire, impetus, drive, urge, eagerness, zest, zeal, zealousness, fire, passion(s), enthusiasm, motivation, mettle, resolution, resolve, intention, enterprise We have always admired the spirit of the early pioneers Bill has shown a lot of the right spirit. 3 zest, pungency, piquancy, warmth, fire, animation, life, liveliness, vivacity, vivaciousness, panache, élan, dash, spice, Colloq sauce, pepper He needs to put more spirit into his sales presentation 4 See spectre, 1, above. 5 bravery, courage, grit, backbone, valour, pluck, daring, stout-heartedness, manfulness, manliness, gameness, resoluteness, will, will-power, Colloq vim, spunk, get-up-and-go, (right) stuff, guts, US sand Johnston has the spirit to be a marine 6 meaning, sense, tenor, signification, purport, intent, intention, purpose, aim, implication, message, essence, quintessence, core, heart, meat, pith, substance, marrow The spirit of the agreement is different from the way the lawyers worded the contract Is it in keeping with the spirit of the law? 7 attitude, principle, thought, idea, inspiration, notion, feeling, inclination, impulse Christmas is associated with the spirit of giving 8 Often, spirits. temper, mood, sentiments, feelings, cheer, humour, frame of mind; morale I hope he took my criticism in good spirit You seem to be in pretty good spirits today. My spirits are quite low. 9 spirits. a feelings, mood, temper, sentiments; morale, esprit de corps, team spirit Spirits were high at the annual boat races b alcohol, liquor, whisky, strong drink, Colloq booze, fire-water, Slang chiefly US and Canadian hooch or hootch It is illegal to sell spirits to minors
v. 10 spirit away or off. abduct, make off or away with, carry off, transport, take away, kidnap, steal (off or away with), whisk away, abscond with; make disappear A thief spirited away a painting from the exhibition She was spirited away by a band of elves.