1
as in temporal
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven
a time of year when people shouldn't focus on fleshly concerns, but instead on spiritual matters
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in physical
of or relating to the human body
the fleshly eye sees the only finished painting, but the mind's eye sees the genius behind its creation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sensual
pleasing to the physical senses
returning campers looking forward to all the fleshly pleasures of home, including warm baths
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fleshly
Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.
—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
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
Belief in being a personal soul trapped in a fleshly body would invert this true view.
—
Tony Lobl,
Christian Science Monitor,
5 Mar. 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
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
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
Belief in being a personal soul trapped in a fleshly body would invert this true view.
—
Tony Lobl,
Christian Science Monitor,
5 Mar. 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
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Though editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis (a Yorgos Lanthimos regular) cuts the film with brisk concision, there’s also a welcome temporal elasticity here — the sense that life can change in the blink of an eye, but also stall for undefined passages.
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The researchers fed this millennium-long data into a computer model to determine how much stress has built up along the faults in that temporal window.
Adjective
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In the absence of an official investigation, the incident last September has been magnified, and perhaps embellished, in the minds of veterans living on the campus, a community defined by the vulnerability of physical disability, substance use and trauma.
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Doulas practice across the country to assist patients before, during, and after childbirth, particularly with their emotional and physical needs.
Adjective
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With Sonja Tyspin’s cinematography imbuing an innocent, sensual curiosity, Kiyoko sweetly conveys the awkward thrill of fledgling emotions.
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Life in Paris taught me to be less rigid and more sensual, and back home in Connecticut, my dad was changing, too.
Adjective
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Over the course of the 2030s, the idea of telepathy will go from novel and futuristic to ubiquitous and mundane.
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The videos shot selfie-style show Kasemeier completing mundane tasks like shaving, or making a meal for his kids while giving the internet a glimpse into his week as a dad.
Adjective
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Keller police said Michael Mango of Ferris was speeding and arrested him on suspicion of intoxication assault with a vehicle causing serious bodily injury.
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Riverside County Sheriff’s Glynn Wilburn was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, felony reckless driving causing serious injury and great bodily injury enhancement, according to a June 18 release from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
Adjective
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For decades, biologists thought that early tetrapods, ancient vertebrates that started conquering the land over 300 million years ago, developed like modern amphibians—beginning their lives as purely aquatic tadpoles and then metamorphosing into terrestrial adults.
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Running is the fastest terrestrial gait, following walking, trotting, and galloping.
Adjective
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People at the most senior levels of the government have no earthly idea what's being discussed inside the White House, inside the Oval Office and the Situation Room.
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The new season will get around to that question, though the alien and earthly plot lines are kept on separate tracks.
Adjective
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Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.
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The charity reports a 70% increase in multi-animal incidents across England and Wales since 2021, defining such cases as those involving 10 or more animals.
Cite this Entry
“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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