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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 Each issue centers around the bonds that women form with each other, and in this case, forged vis-à-vis a carnal and violent bloodbath. Tiffany Leigh, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025 Uma doesn’t have a domestic bone in her body, and Gopal seems unable even to undress in front of his wife, let alone have anything resembling carnal relations. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 May 2025 Decades later, Erika bears a carnal attraction to her Uncle Fritz (Martin Rother), an amputee who lies withering in pain in his bedroom. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025 But the texting and blocking, the free-for-all backwaters of the internet and the carnal shenanigans that color contemporary TV teendom do put a different complexion on growing up. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for carnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnal
Adjective
  • The Incredibles films follow the daily lives of the Parr family, a household of superheroes trying to hide their powers while navigating a mundane life that occasionally beckons for more.
    Yasmeen Hamadeh, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
  • In recent months, part of that strategy has extended to agentic AI, which—when deployed at scale—is meant to handle routine, mundane tasks autonomously with little input from human employees.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • So commences a night of harrowing encounters and trauma both physical and mental, starting with Ron and Mike’s trip to meet Oliver at a bar after one of his shows.
    Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Perez does not break down training into physical and tactical work, instead designing complex exercises so players build fitness while practising real-game situations.
    Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The book was created using a biological, sensual craft, as well as a cerebral one.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • The exaggerated shape and high arch built on Givenchy’s early codes, both sculptural and sensual.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Without temporal permanence, hallucinations inherited from their past selves are accepted as true, and can begin to compound.
    Tharin Pillay, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
  • The novella lacks the temporal markers that indicate how much time has passed between episodes and exhibits an abundance of characters with ruptured psyches.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Jail records show Gatica faces charges of DUI causing death or bodily injury and hit-and-run causing death or bodily injury.
    Greg Wehner , Bill Melugin, FOXNews.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Sanchez is facing a level 5 felony battery resulting in serious bodily injury charge.
    Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Like terrestrial monsters, evil aliens are often stand-ins for real-life anxieties.
    Alan Bradley, Space.com, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Now, industry eyerolling at the thought of listening faster has existed since the majority of audio storytelling moved from terrestrial radio—where there’s no skipping, scrubbing forward or backward, and certainly no way to speed things up—to podcasting.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Not quite plant, not quite animal; delicious and wild and rare.
    Callie Sumlin, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Perhaps unsurprisingly, dogs were more likely to respond to animal stimuli than to non-animal stimuli.
    Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 July 2025
Adjective
  • That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Nov. 2025
  • That was one last flourish of self-laceration, and there is definitely a matching strain of masochism in Hopkins—not so much a relish of suffering as a rueful acknowledgment that earthly woe is our due.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Carnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnal. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.

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