1
as in mundane
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven
the preacher warned that those who were interested only in carnal pursuits would not see the kingdom of heaven
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in physical
of or relating to the human body
a missionary who tends to the carnal needs of the people as well as to their spiritual concerns
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sensual
pleasing to the physical senses
carnal attractions of that gambling mecca in the desert
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of carnal
Outside Richie’s bubble, disco was dying, and the glossy, often carnal stadium pop of the ’80s hadn’t quite arrived.
—
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Emerald Fennell’s reimagined Wuthering Heights got audiences hot under the collar; so will Lena Dunham’s Good Sex, in which Natalie Portman plays a couples therapist discovering her own carnal desires.
—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
15 Apr. 2026
This unapologetically fleshy, carnal, feminine update on David Cronenberg's 1988 psychosexual classic sees Rachel Weisz brilliantly pulling double-duty as identical twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle.
—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
Wasserman was long presumed to be an mere philanthropic acquaintance of the vile and very well connected Epstein (who died in mysterious circumstances in a NYC jail in 2019), the massive document dump by Donald Trump‘s DOJ in late January revealed a carnal 2003 correspondence with Maxwell.
—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for carnal
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Emerald Fennell’s reimagined Wuthering Heights got audiences hot under the collar; so will Lena Dunham’s Good Sex, in which Natalie Portman plays a couples therapist discovering her own carnal desires.
—
Savannah Walsh,
Vanity Fair,
15 Apr. 2026
This unapologetically fleshy, carnal, feminine update on David Cronenberg's 1988 psychosexual classic sees Rachel Weisz brilliantly pulling double-duty as identical twin gynecologists Beverly and Elliot Mantle.
—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Apr. 2026
Wasserman was long presumed to be an mere philanthropic acquaintance of the vile and very well connected Epstein (who died in mysterious circumstances in a NYC jail in 2019), the massive document dump by Donald Trump‘s DOJ in late January revealed a carnal 2003 correspondence with Maxwell.
—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for carnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnal
Adjective
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Over the course of the 2030s, the idea of telepathy will go from novel and futuristic to ubiquitous and mundane.
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The videos shot selfie-style show Kasemeier completing mundane tasks like shaving, or making a meal for his kids while giving the internet a glimpse into his week as a dad.
Adjective
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In the absence of an official investigation, the incident last September has been magnified, and perhaps embellished, in the minds of veterans living on the campus, a community defined by the vulnerability of physical disability, substance use and trauma.
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Doulas practice across the country to assist patients before, during, and after childbirth, particularly with their emotional and physical needs.
Adjective
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With Sonja Tyspin’s cinematography imbuing an innocent, sensual curiosity, Kiyoko sweetly conveys the awkward thrill of fledgling emotions.
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Life in Paris taught me to be less rigid and more sensual, and back home in Connecticut, my dad was changing, too.
Adjective
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Though editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis (a Yorgos Lanthimos regular) cuts the film with brisk concision, there’s also a welcome temporal elasticity here — the sense that life can change in the blink of an eye, but also stall for undefined passages.
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The researchers fed this millennium-long data into a computer model to determine how much stress has built up along the faults in that temporal window.
Adjective
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Keller police said Michael Mango of Ferris was speeding and arrested him on suspicion of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
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Riverside County Sheriff’s Glynn Wilburn was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, felony reckless driving causing serious injury and great bodily injury enhancement, according to a June 18 release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Adjective
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For decades, biologists thought that early tetrapods, ancient vertebrates that started conquering the land over 300 million years ago, developed like modern amphibians—beginning their lives as purely aquatic tadpoles and then metamorphosing into terrestrial adults.
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Running is the fastest terrestrial gait, following walking, trotting, and galloping.
Adjective
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Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.
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The charity reports a 70% increase in multi-animal incidents across England and Wales since 2021, defining such cases as those involving 10 or more animals.
Adjective
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People at the most senior levels of the government have no earthly idea what's being discussed inside the White House, inside the Oval Office and the Situation Room.
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The new season will get around to that question, though the alien and earthly plot lines are kept on separate tracks.
Cite this Entry
“Carnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnal. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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