- Main Entry:
- car·nal
- Pronunciation:
-
\ˈkär-nəl\
- Function:
- adjective
- Etymology:
- Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French carnel, charnel, from Late Latin carnalis, from Latin carn-, caro flesh; akin to Greek keirein to cut — more at shear
- Date:
- 14th century
1 a: relating to or given to crude bodily pleasures and appetites b: marked by sexuality <carnal love>2: bodily, corporeal <seen with carnal eyes>3 a: temporal <carnal weapons> b: worldly <a carnal mind>
—
car·nal·i·ty \kär-ˈna-lə-tē\ noun —
car·nal·ly \ˈkär-nə-lē\ adverb synonyms carnal,
fleshly,
sensual,
animal mean having a relation to the body.
carnal may mean only this but more often connotes derogatorily an action or manifestation of a person's lower nature
<a slave to carnal desires>.
fleshly is less derogatory than
carnal <a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations>.
sensual may apply to any gratification of a bodily desire or pleasure but commonly implies sexual appetite with absence of the spiritual or intellectual
<fleshpots providing sensual delights>.
animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person
<led a mindless animal existence>.
