n.1. the nonphysical part of a person: the mental, moral, and emotional characteristics that make up the core of someone’s identity. 2. a vital force seen as animating the bodies of living creatures, sometimes identified with the soul and seen as surviving death. 3. an immaterial being, such as a ghost or a deity. 4. in idealist philosophies, a universal mind or idea seen as a fundamental reality and a moving force of events in the world. See absolute idealism. 5. the mood, temper, or disposition that temporarily or permanently characterizes a person. 6. courage or morale.