Spirited

How to spell spirited

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce spirited

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does spirited mean?

1. adjectiveFull of energy, enthusiasm, or determination.
2. verbPast tense of spirit, meaning to carry someone or something off quickly and secretly.

Spirited in a sentence

• adjective

  The committee held a spirited debate about the budget cuts.

• verb

  Security spirited the celebrity away before the crowd noticed.

• adjective

  Her spirited defence of the proposal impressed the board.

• verb

  The documents were spirited out of the office overnight.

Where does spirited come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows out of the Latin spiritus, which literally meant 'breath' or 'breathing', and by extension the breath of life, the soul, or vigour, all built on the verb spirare 'to breathe'. The noun spirit reached English through Old French in the 1200s, carrying religious and emotional senses of an animating force within a person. By the late 1500s English speakers were adding the suffix -ed to make the adjective spirited, describing someone whose inner 'breath' or vigour ran high, hence lively and full of energy. The same spirare root sits inside familiar relatives such as inspire (to breathe in), respire (to breathe again), and conspire (to breathe together). Knowing that the core is the noun spirit helps with the spelling: keep the single t of spirit before adding the ordinary -ed, giving spirited rather than any doubled form.

How the word is built

• spirit (from Latin spiritus: breath, life)
• -ed (adjective/past-tense suffix)