numinous
/ˈnjuːmɪnəs
/adjective
Having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity: the strange, numinous beauty of this ancient landmark...
- It's a different spiritual awareness than the numinous qualities of James MacMillan or the orthodox, religion-poaching Tavener.
- More than that, though, it is a mysterious, numinous presence that inhabits it, both attractive and frightening, grand and gentle, like the spirit of the sea itself, and the peoples that live by and with it.
- Brunnehilde, when she informs Siegmund of his imminent death, is another such darkling, numinous presence.
Derivatives
numinosity
- It was there that many Bulgarian freedom fighters were hidden during the 500 years of Turkish rule, and from what we could tell, a good deal of the monastery's meaning, its numinosity, was associated with its resistance to the Turks.
- Despite what we might call the numinosity of this situation, Mr Tung takes an immediate liking to the new ‘tenant’, who introduces himself as Mr Chung Tse-hsia.
- Originally the word kami was used to describe any mysterious or sacred reality, anything that seemed to possess numinosity.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin numen, numin- 'divine will' + -ous.