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Synonym Chooser

How is the word carnal different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of carnal are animal, fleshly, and sensual. While all these words 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

When can animal be used instead of carnal?

While the synonyms animal and carnal are close in meaning, animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person.

led a mindless animal existence

How do fleshly and carnal relate to one another?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal.

a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

When is it sensible to use sensual instead of carnal?

While in some cases nearly identical to carnal, 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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of carnal Miranda, specifically, is in the middle of a three-month break from carnal knowledge. Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2025 Translating carnal attraction, magnetism, and deepening desire, Ropion says the fragrance is ripe with a flower that refuses to go unnoticed: tuberose. Essence, 24 Apr. 2025 This opulent unisex scent made for both men and women marries lush oud with velvety rose—along with equally sumptuous honey and saffron—for a carnal love potion designed for those who aren’t afraid to stand out. Mary Honkus, Glamour, 8 Apr. 2025 As a chronicle of carnal awakening, Dying for Sex, created by Kim Rosenstock and Elizabeth Meriwether based on true events detailed in the Wondery podcast of the same title, is unapologetically horny and refreshingly open-minded. Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 27 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for carnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnal
Adjective
  • Even their most mundane activities, to Domoslay-Paul, were enchanting.
    Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 30 June 2025
  • The play’s about choices, both mundane and gripping, and where those choices have taken the title character over her lifetime with children and three husbands.
    Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Creating spaces — physical or digital — that evoke deep emotional connection builds loyalty that no marketing funnel can replicate.
    Sudhir Gupta, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
  • Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
    Billboard Japan, Billboard, 9 July 2025
Adjective
  • Joined by four extremely sensual dancers, Starr powered through her hits, fully choreographed and vocally impressive.
    jsonline.com, jsonline.com, 4 July 2025
  • To preserve two years worth of wartime love letters that are frisky, sensual, imaginative and, above all, honest.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Generally, Proverbs-Job-Ecclesiastes can be viewed as a temporal trilogy reflecting certainty about wealth and health type rewards in this life for righteousness, with a transition to questioning any such connection, and then cynicism.
    Walt Shelton, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
  • In recent years, the editors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have added factors ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence into their temporal calculus.
    Jonathon Keats, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Of the threats of bodily harm and even death to men who got in the way.
    Marco della Cava, USA Today, 3 July 2025
  • Aren’t dino farms, in which the poor creatures are kept alive just to be drained of their precious bodily fluids, the next step?
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Flying drones may avoid some problems navigating terrestrial obstacles and potentially be less intrusive and faster.
    Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • As a result, Martian dust devils can be thrice as large as their terrestrial analogues.
    Unnati Ashar, Space.com, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • In 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 paved the way for alternatives to animal testing, and in December 2023, an NIH advisory committee made similar recommendations to develop non-animal methods.
    Rachel Fobar, Vox, 14 May 2025
  • Rendering is a process that transforms animal by-products, like leftover meat and fats...and yes, chicken feet, into usable materials, such as animal feed, fuel, and other industrial products.
    Phil Kafarakis, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • The result is a project that transformed a site of heavenly aspirations into one of earthly delight.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 27 June 2025
  • Much like those on this earthly plane, the way to a spirit’s heart is through his or her stomach.
    Vanessa Anderson, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Carnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnal. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.

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