Meaning & use
spiritual healers
Last updated
Meanings
nounplural
People who claim to cure illness or suffering by using prayer, energy, or contact with spirits rather than standard medicine.
Grammar: Always plural in this form; the singular is "spiritual healer" and takes a singular verb.
Patterns
- spiritual healers who treat something
- consult a spiritual healer
- believe in spiritual healers
After the doctors gave up, her family took her to a group of spiritual healers in the countryside.
Spiritual healers often say that illness begins with a disturbance in a person's energy.
Some patients see spiritual healers alongside their regular treatment rather than instead of it.
nounpluralreligion
People in certain religions who guide others through rituals meant to restore spiritual well-being.
Grammar: Used with a plural verb; a single person is "a spiritual healer."
Patterns
- spiritual healers in a tradition
- a ceremony led by spiritual healers
In that tradition, spiritual healers lead ceremonies to calm troubled members of the community.
The village spiritual healers were respected as much for their advice as for their rituals.
Word forms
| singular | spiritual healer |
|---|
Common combinations
- a spiritual healer
- She described herself as a spiritual healer with twenty years of experience.
- consult a spiritual healer
- He decided to consult a spiritual healer after months of sleeplessness.
- traditional spiritual healers
- Traditional spiritual healers still play a role in many rural communities.
- spiritual healing
- Spiritual healing is offered at the retreat alongside yoga and meditation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- faith healer
- Very close in meaning, but "faith healer" stresses religious belief and prayer, while "spiritual healer" is broader and can include energy or New Age practices.
- medicine man
- Refers to a healer in some Indigenous cultures; it is specific to that context and can sound dated or disrespectful if used loosely.
- shaman
- A healer who enters altered states to contact spirits; narrower and tied to particular traditions, not a general substitute.
Word family
Commonly confused: spiritual healers or healers? spiritual healers or mediums?
spiritual healers vs healers
The general word for anyone who cures; without "spiritual" it suggests medical or natural treatment, not prayer or spirits.
spiritual healers vs mediums
People who claim to communicate with the dead; they may or may not claim to cure illness, so the words overlap only partly.
Practice
Which sentence uses "spiritual healers" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"Spiritual healers" is plural, so it needs a plural verb and cannot follow "a" or "is." Only option C treats it as a plural noun phrase with a number ("two") and a plural verb ("visited"). Option D is wrong because "a" must be followed by the singular "spiritual healer."
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spiritual healers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.