Table of Contents
Definition of Spirit Possession
(noun) A situation in which a supernatural being inhabits or takes control of an individual.
Example of Spirit Possession
- “Taraka’s Ghost” by Ruth and Stanley Freed, in which a young woman named Sita is possessed by the ghost of Taraka, a childhood friend who committed suicide in Northern India.
Spirit Possession Pronunciation
Syllabification: spir·it pos·ses·sion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /spIR-uht puh-zEsh-uhn/
- British English – /spIr-it puh-zE-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈspɪrət pəˈzɛʃən/
- British English – /ˈspɪrɪt pəˈzɛʃən/
Usage Note
- Plural: spirit possessions
Additional Information
- Religion Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “spirit” and “possession” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- belief system
- force
- magic
- mantra
- personified supernatural force
- polytheism
- prayer
- priest
- religion
- supernatural
- totemism
Cite the Definition of Spirit Possession
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “spirit possession.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 27, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/spirit-possession/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
spirit possession. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/spirit-possession/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “spirit possession.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 27, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/spirit-possession/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“spirit possession.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/spirit-possession/>.