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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of fleshly are animal, carnal, and sensual. While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," fleshly is less derogatory than carnal.

a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

When might animal be a better fit than fleshly?

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

led a mindless animal existence

When is carnal a more appropriate choice than fleshly?

While in some cases nearly identical to fleshly, 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 would sensual be a good substitute for fleshly?

Although the words sensual and fleshly have much in common, 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleshly
Adjective
  • This temporal blurring between past and present is echoed in the structure of the installation itself, which creates a kind of time loop between the two films, shuttling the viewer between the immediate danger of the war’s outbreak and the lingering trauma of its memory.
    Joanna Warsza, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Las acciones de Google son especialmente insensibles y graves ante el cierre administrativo temporal del gobierno (shutdown), ignorando las peticiones de funcionarios gubernamentales y organizaciones hispanas que les solicitaron mantener la programación de Univision en el paquete principal.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Green Hill plans to help restart Smith Springs financially, provide manpower for physical work and could potentially have some of its congregants move to Smith Springs Baptist, officials said.
    Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Harbaugh wants to be a physical team.
    Daniel Popper, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Bieber’s iteration on the trend elevated the style to a cheeky, high-fashion moment with feminine touches and sensual edge.
    Julia Teti, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2025
  • For the sensual and aesthetically-inclined Libras, Atlas says a hobby like candle making is a match made in heaven.
    Cori Sears, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The pair’s fight is fueled by the mundane (a busted dinner party) and the profound (Mark’s addiction, Dawn’s codependence, the constant pressure of professional fighting).
    Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Between food prep and costume store runs, the magic of Halloween can quickly become mundane.
    Parents Editors, Parents, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Sanchez was charged with felony battery involving serious bodily injury on Monday.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Originally, Ascher and Fraker were each charged with one count of failure to act to prevent bodily harm to a child, a felony that could have resulted in as much as six-year prison sentences.
    Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Other researchers took a look at the data and found that inorganic processes or terrestrial contamination could replicate all the evidence from the meteorite.
    Keith Cooper, Space.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • For the past 60+ years, the name NASA has been synonymous with humanity’s vision to dream about horizons far beyond the bounds of our terrestrial worries.
    Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This means the earthly remains of the beloved saint will bring thousands of visitors to honor the saint's life of virtue and ask for her prayers.
    Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Scholars intuited a link between the celestial and earthly multitudes.
    Greg Grandin September 23, Literary Hub, 23 Sep. 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

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Cite this Entry

“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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