Synonyms of corporeal

corporeal

adjective

kȯr-ˈpȯr-ē-əl 

as in physical

of or relating to the human body

corporeal cravings such as hunger and thirst

Synonyms & Similar Words

• physical
• bodily
• somatic
• animal
• corporal
• physiological
• physiologic
• anatomic
• anatomical
• carnal
• material
• sensual
• fleshly
• sensuous
• hand-to-hand

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• psychological
• mental
• inner
• intellectual
• cerebral
• spiritual
• psychologic
• nonphysical
• immaterial
• nonmaterial
• psychical
• metaphysical
• insubstantial
• psychic
• incorporeal
• ethereal
• bodiless

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective corporeal contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of corporeal are material, objective, phenomenal, physical, and sensible. While all these words mean "of or belonging to actuality," corporeal implies having the tangible qualities of a body such as shape, size, or resistance to force.

artists have portrayed angels as corporeal beings

When can material be used instead of corporeal?

The meanings of material and corporeal largely overlap; however, material implies formation out of tangible matter; used in contrast with spiritual or ideal it may connote the mundane, crass, or grasping.

material values

When is objective a more appropriate choice than corporeal?

While the synonyms objective and corporeal are close in meaning, objective may stress material or independent existence apart from a subject perceiving it.

no objective evidence of damage

In what contexts can phenomenal take the place of corporeal?

While in some cases nearly identical to corporeal, phenomenal applies to what is known or perceived through the senses rather than by intuition or rational deduction.

scientists concerned with the phenomenal world

When is it sensible to use physical instead of corporeal?

The words physical and corporeal can be used in similar contexts, but physical applies to what is perceived directly by the senses and may contrast with mental, spiritual, or imaginary.

the physical benefits of exercise

When would sensible be a good substitute for corporeal?

The synonyms sensible and corporeal are sometimes interchangeable, but sensible stresses the capability of readily or forcibly impressing the senses.

the earth's rotation is not sensible to us

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of corporeal

These early influences contributed to his interest in percolating debates about the divide between functional and organic disease—or disease that can be clearly attributed to some corporeal source vs. that with no apparent somatic aspect. —Tom Zeller Jr. july 30, Literary Hub, 30 July 2025

The empty shell of the utilitarian object, the device of preservation, becomes the object of presentation, allegorically denying grand sculptural promises and literally returning the sculptural object to the actual basis of corporeal and somatic experience of the body’s movement in time and space. —Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Artforum, 1 June 2025

Those questions are, so often, temporal and corporeal. —Editorial, Boston Herald, 10 May 2025

Are the spectral and corporeal worlds friends or foes? —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025