Psychical Meaning
/ˈsʌɪkɪk(ə)l/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjPerformed by or pertaining to the psyche (the mind, spirit, or both): mental, psychic.
adjPertaining to the animal nature of man, as opposed to the spirit.
Sentence Examples
The book explores various types of strange psychical phenomena.
He claimed to possess powers of a purely psychical nature.
The medium claimed to possess unusual psychical powers and abilities.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The skeptic argued that the alleged ghost sighting was not a ____ event.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The society investigated ____ phenomena including telepathy and clairvoyance using scientific methods.
Word Origin & History
From Ancient Greek ψυχικός (psukhikós) + -al. By surface analysis, psyche + -ical.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Who could say where the fleshly impulse ceased, or the psychical impulse began?"
— 1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter IV, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 85:
"Even more perhaps than other kinds of genius, religious leaders have been subject to abnormal psychical visitations. Invariably they have been creatures of exalted emotional sensibility."
— 1902, William James, “Lecture I”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC:
""The physical body has rather been a source of pain and fatigue to us. It is the constant index of our limitations. Why then should we worry about its detachment from our psychical selves?" "If they can indeed be detached," Summerlee grumbled."
— 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
""Thus every form, every object, every external phenomenon," says Vignoli, "becomes vivified and animated by the intrinsic consciousness and personal psychical faculty of the animal itself."
— 1941, George Ryley Scott, Phallic Worship: A History of Sex and Sex Rites in Relation to the Religions of All Races from Antiquity to the Present Day, London: T. Werner Laurie, page 8:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The skeptic argued that the alleged ghost sighting was not a ____ event.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The society investigated ____ phenomena including telepathy and clairvoyance using scientific methods.