numinous
- Having a strong sense of the divine, supernatural, or spiritually awe-inspiring quality that provokes a feeling of reverence and mystery.
- More broadly, evoking a profound sense of awe or strangeness that transcends ordinary experience.
In a sentence
- Standing alone in the ancient cathedral at dawn, she felt a numinous presence that no rational explanation could dispel.
- C. S. Lewis described certain moments in nature as numinous—charged with a sense of something vast and holy just beyond perception.
Usage note. Numinous specifically implies a spiritual or quasi-divine awe rather than mere impressiveness; avoid using it as a vague synonym for 'beautiful' or 'impressive,' as it carries a precise phenomenological meaning rooted in religious studies.
Where it comes from
English numinous · entered English 20th c.
Derived from Latin 'numen' (divine power, divine will, deity), which itself comes from 'nuere' (to nod, indicating divine assent). The adjective form was popularized in English by the German theologian Rudolf Otto in his 1917 work 'Das Heilige' (translated as 'The Idea of the Holy'), and entered widespread English use in the early 20th century.