1
as in temporal
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven
a time of year when people shouldn't focus on fleshly concerns, but instead on spiritual matters
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2
as in physical
of or relating to the human body
the fleshly eye sees the only finished painting, but the mind's eye sees the genius behind its creation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sensual
pleasing to the physical senses
returning campers looking forward to all the fleshly pleasures of home, including warm baths
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fleshly
Murderbot has been realized in fleshly form in the sculpted body of Alexander Skarsgård, on the new Apple TV+ series of the same name.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
That was the thing about Succession — its characters were monstrous, but the show never lost sight of their fleshly fallibility, their doubts and vulnerabilities.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 May 2025
What the world desires, in short, is a glimpse of a video game, which no one will be able to play until 2025—a game that builds an entire alternative world, glowing with the promise of violence and other fleshly thrills.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2023
But the album offers more than deliciously hedonistic thrills: Thrusting us into their operatic world, this Brooklyn band makes peace with their dark memories and fleshly desires.
—Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023
The grateful nutcracker becomes a living prince and leads Clara through a spinning snowstorm of ballerinas to a sugary kingdom where flamenco-style dancers spin with twisting torsos and entwining arms as fleshly embodiments of Spanish chocolate.
—Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
That was the thing about Succession — its characters were monstrous, but the show never lost sight of their fleshly fallibility, their doubts and vulnerabilities.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 May 2025
What the world desires, in short, is a glimpse of a video game, which no one will be able to play until 2025—a game that builds an entire alternative world, glowing with the promise of violence and other fleshly thrills.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2023
But the album offers more than deliciously hedonistic thrills: Thrusting us into their operatic world, this Brooklyn band makes peace with their dark memories and fleshly desires.
—Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023
The grateful nutcracker becomes a living prince and leads Clara through a spinning snowstorm of ballerinas to a sugary kingdom where flamenco-style dancers spin with twisting torsos and entwining arms as fleshly embodiments of Spanish chocolate.
—Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleshly
Adjective
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This temporal displacement frees Pynchon to offer sidelong commentary on contemporary politics without getting trapped in the flux of the present or being too on the nose.—
Jack Denton,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
-
To practice ‘future temporal focused’ networking, create a timetable and ask yourself key questions.—
Sarah Maokosy,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Santos Jimenez remains in good physical shape, with Debbie Jimenez noting that her father-in-law would likely be going for a walk after the interview.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
26 Oct. 2025
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But his unconventional and physical style of play as a 6-foot-2, 235-pound quarterback is what endears him to them on the field.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The garments by the two designers are arranged side by side or facing each other, allowing visitors to appreciate the contrast between Balenciaga’s formal elegance and Alaïa’s sensual style.—
Andrea Onate,
Footwear News,
24 Oct. 2025
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This film took us on an unexpected journey through the hallucinating world of the rave dancers in the desert of Morocco, with the specificity of a journalist, and with all the sensual power of a filmmaker.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because the Dolce Vita runs on regular Italian tracks, there are occasional pauses for more mundane events like engine swaps, traffic snarlups and delays.—
Antonia Mortensen,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
-
In the video, Rosalía goes back and forth between mundane errands wihile the entire orchestra follows her around at home, at the doctor, at a coffee shop, and more.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Having been taken to Coonabarabran Police Station, Valette was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to a person with intent and affray, which is fighting or the threat of unlawful violence which makes another person fear for their life, per the NSW Police news release.—
Latoya Gayle,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
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Jashanpreet, an Indian national who entered the United States illegally in 2022, has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs, causing bodily injury, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to San Bernardino County records.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Having exhausted our terrestrial destination, humanity is now reaching for extraterrestrial ones.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
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Instead of running physical cables that connect your home or RV to the greater internet, Starlink uses a series of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that communicate between your home dish and a terrestrial gateway somewhere else on Earth.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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Ordinary matter makes up everything from the cosmic (planets and stars) to the earthly (people and trees).—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Not quite plant, not quite animal; delicious and wild and rare.—
Callie Sumlin,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
15 Oct. 2025
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, dogs were more likely to respond to animal stimuli than to non-animal stimuli.—
Margherita Bassi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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