Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
1. Hinduism A sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation, such as an invocation of a god, a magic spell, or a syllable or portion of scripture containing mystical potentialities.
a. A commonly repeated word or phrase, especially in advocacy or for motivation: "The mantra of solid-waste management has long been reduce, reuse, recycle" (Susan Freinkel).
b. A concept or fact that is mentioned repeatedly, especially in advocacy: "Another mantra of housing bulls in America is that national average house prices have never fallen for a full year since modern statistics began" (Economist).
1. (Hinduism) Hinduism any of those parts of the Vedic literature which consist of the metrical psalms of praise
2. (Hinduism) Hinduism Buddhism any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
3. (Buddhism) Hinduism Buddhism any sacred word or syllable used as an object of concentration and embodying some aspect of spiritual power
[C19: from Sanskrit, literally: speech, instrument of thought, from man to think]
man•tra(ˈmæn trə, ˈmɑn-)
n., pl. -tras also -trams.
1. (in Hinduism and Buddhism) a sacred word or formula repeated as an incantation.
2. any often repeated word, formula, or stock phrase; slogan.
[1800–10; < Skt]
A letter, word, sound, or phrase which may be used in meditation and repeated continually as you breath in or out. The best known mantra is “Om.”
Switch to new thesaurus
|Noun||1.||mantra - a commonly repeated word or phrase; "she repeated `So pleased with how its going' at intervals like a mantra"|
|2.||mantra - (Sanskrit) literally a `sacred utterance' in Vedism; one of a collection of orally transmitted poetic hymns|
Hindooism, Hinduism - a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and based on a caste system; it is characterized by a belief in reincarnation, by a belief in a supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from earthly evils
Buddhism - the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth