unembodied

English

Alternative forms

• unimbodied (obsolete) [18^th Century]

Etymology

un- +‎ embodied

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ənĕmbŏʹdĭd, IPA^(key): /ənɛmˈbɒdɪd/

Adjective

unembodied (not comparable)

1. (of a soul, spirit, or other such essence so conceived) Incorporeal; not possessed of a body.
   • 1979 April 28, John Graczak, “The Sacred and the Profane”, in Gay Community News, page 16:

     Elaborate rituals designed to separate the realm of the Holy, the realm of the unembodied Sky-Father, and much messier World, where people do inconvenient things like have babies and copulate.

2. (of principles, ideas, theories, or the like)
   1. Not expressed or exhibited in material or concrete form; wholly abstract.
   2. Not incorporated into a coherent system; conceptually disconnected.
3. (especially of armed multitudes) Not united in a regimented structure; lacking structure and order.
4. Existing or operating without involvement by the body; solely mental or intellectual; “ungrounded”, “heady”.

References

• “unemˈbodied, ppl. a.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2^nd Ed.; 1989]