CONCUPISCENCES Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

concupiscence

noun

kän-ˈkyü-pə-sən(t)s

Definition of concupiscence

as in desire

sexual appetite the Puritans did not condemn concupiscence but rather the satisfaction of it in ways they deemed illicit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in lustfulness

intense sexual desire according to the church theologian St. Augustine, concupiscence is a consequence of original sin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

frigidity

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 concupiscence Through the eyes of a scammer, America is a nation of satyrs and harlots, our concupiscence interrupted only by occasional trips to Walmart or the gas station. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026 Gregory of Nyssa, contemplating the Christian horror of concupiscence, once theorized that had not Adam and Eve sinned, the two of them would have remained virgins and reproduced in whatever way angels did. — David Harsanyi, National Review, 8 June 2023

Recent Examples of Synonyms for concupiscence

Noun

Cary, torn between his own desires and others’ expectations, can’t seem to determine where his loyalties lie.

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 15 July 2026
Unrequited yearning, alcoholism, and suppressed desires abound in the 80-minute one-act play, which won Escola a Tony Award.

— Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 July 2026

Definition of desire

Noun

The dialectically deft characters in his movies aren’t talking heads but talking bodies, elaborating a world of cultural and rhetorical elegance from the sublimation of lust and the dream of love.

— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 9 July 2026
More important to Bernstein is what that lust reveals about her characters’ deepest needs, specifically how their need to care and be cared for can be as easily perverted as any other form of desire.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 9 July 2026

Definition of lust

Noun

For those truly struggling with the emotional toll of the game, consider taking a page from Argentina, a country whose love of soccer is perhaps only rivaled by its passion for psychoanalysis.

— Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Others demonstrate a star’s deep passion for agriculture or oenology.

— Emily Saladino, Washington Post, 17 July 2026

Definition of passion

Browse Nearby Words

concubines

concupiscence

concupiscent

See all Nearby Words

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“Concupiscence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/concupiscence. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of concupiscence

noun

Example Sentences

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