---
title: "What does “letter & spirit” mean?"  
description: "What does “letter & spirit” mean?"  
author: "twinkle das"  
published: 2018-03-06  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/37078/what-does-letter-spirit-mean  
category: "spirituality"  
reading_time: 1 minute  

---

# What does “letter & spirit” mean?

What does “letter &[amp](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/156207/what-is-amp); spirit” [mean](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/161423/how-does-angular-handle-dependency-injection-and-why-is-it-important-in-a-mean-application)?

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## Answers

### Answer by Shriyam Srivastava

*'Letter & spirit*' is an **idiomatic antithesis** of English language. Both are written in the same sentence but both have different meanings.

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By **'letter**' we mean the **literal interpretation of the data- what is written in words.** And by **'spirit**' we mean the **intention of that data, what it is trying to convey to us**. In other words, *'letter'* is a *common noun* while '*spirit*' is an *abstract noun.*

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- Sometimes we see the usage of this idiom in a sentence like; **The scheme will be followed in letter & spirit.** It simply means that they will not only follow **what is written** in the scheme, but will also adhere to its **intention.**
- While at other instances it could be used as a contradictory form; **He went on to follow the Constitution's ideas in letter but not in spirit.** This means that he adhered to **what was written and stated the facts of the Constitution** but did not apply its **intent** in his actions.


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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/37078/what-does-letter-spirit-mean

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