Meaning & use
spiritual home
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Meanings
nouncountablefigurative
A place, city or group where a person feels most at ease and fulfilled, as if it were meant for them, regardless of where they actually come from.
Grammar: Usually singular and preceded by a possessive: Kyoto became her spiritual home.
Patterns
- someone's spiritual home
- the spiritual home of something
After one visit to Lisbon, Marta decided it was her spiritual home.
The old record shop felt like a spiritual home to the local punk bands.
For many hikers, the Lake District is the spiritual home of fell walking.
nouncountable
The place most strongly linked with the origin or best-known practice of a sport, art form or belief.
Grammar: Usually appears as the spiritual home of something: the spiritual home of golf.
Patterns
- the spiritual home of something
St Andrews is often called the spiritual home of golf.
New Orleans is regarded as the spiritual home of jazz.
Varanasi is the spiritual home of many Hindu pilgrims.
Word forms
| plural | spiritual homes |
|---|
Common combinations
- find a spiritual home
- She finally found a spiritual home in the choir.
- the spiritual home of
- Wimbledon is the spiritual home of tennis.
- consider something a spiritual home
- He considers the mountains his spiritual home.
- a true spiritual home
- The workshop became a true spiritual home for local woodworkers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- birthplace
- A birthplace is where something actually began, while a spiritual home can be a place that merely feels right or is strongly associated.
- heartland
- Heartland describes the central region where something is strongest, and it sounds more geographical than emotional.
- haven
- A haven stresses safety and refuge, whereas a spiritual home stresses belonging and identity.
Opposites
Word family
- spirit noun
- the inner, non-physical part of a person
- spiritual adjective
- connected with the spirit rather than material things
- spirituality noun
- the quality of being concerned with the spirit
- spiritually adverb
- in a way that relates to the spirit
Commonly confused: spiritual home or home town?
spiritual home vs home town
Your home town is where you grew up; a spiritual home is where you feel you belong, which may be somewhere else entirely.
Practice
Anna grew up in Leeds but feels completely at ease in Edinburgh. Which phrase best describes Edinburgh for her?
Choose one answer.
A spiritual home is a place where you feel you belong, whatever your origins. Home town would mean where she grew up, which is Leeds.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spiritual home”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.