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
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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
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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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Example Sentences
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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
When another girl, Addie (Mia Pak), tries to explain Jesus’ status as the Son of God—fully fleshly and fully divine—as the meeting of horizontal and vertical lines at the overlapping center of a Venn diagram, Beatrice fisks the idea earnestly.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
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
There is a leveling effect to his approach, one that allows About Endlessness to find grandeur in the smallest of everyday moments while also highlighting the fallible, fleshly absurdity of even history’s most outsize figures.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2021
They were tempted by curiosity and hunger, by fleshly desires.
—Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2021
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
When another girl, Addie (Mia Pak), tries to explain Jesus’ status as the Son of God—fully fleshly and fully divine—as the meeting of horizontal and vertical lines at the overlapping center of a Venn diagram, Beatrice fisks the idea earnestly.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
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
There is a leveling effect to his approach, one that allows About Endlessness to find grandeur in the smallest of everyday moments while also highlighting the fallible, fleshly absurdity of even history’s most outsize figures.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2021
They were tempted by curiosity and hunger, by fleshly desires.
—Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleshly
Adjective
-
For Lyell, the material and the organic worlds belong to categorically distinct temporal orders.—
Lewis Hyde,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
-
While scholars like Resnik, Hosseini, Friesen, Floridi and Lin have proposed meaningful reforms, such as ethical AI education, diverse oversight and explainability principles, few focus on the evolving temporal relationship between humans and algorithms.—
Taposh Roy,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
Fuel costs and physical exhaustion—combined with the general chaos that defined the Grateful Dead’s mid-’70s era—ultimately forced the band to abandon the system after less than a year, retiring it following their October 1974 shows at San Francisco’s Winterland.—
Anna Tingley,
Variety,
27 June 2025
-
After the loss of her child, the woman was hospitalized due to her declining mental and physical health.—
Lauren-Kennedy Brown,
Charlotte Observer,
27 June 2025
Adjective
-
Misner’s sensual signature look speaks in service to the contours of the body, using draping techniques to extend and celebrate curves.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
24 June 2025
-
Your sensual pleasure and romantic desires will never be the same again once Uranus enters mutable Gemini on July 7.—
Liz Simmons,
StyleCaster,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
In more mundane incidents during a flight, sitting near an emergency exit would allow passengers to disembark sooner than others.—
Colson Thayer,
People.com,
18 June 2025
-
When in doubt, let machines hurdle the mundane—but save critical decisions, emotional moments and nuanced interactions for humans.—
Joel Frenette,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
The charges include a Level 4 felony of operating while intoxicated causing death; Level 5 felonies of reckless homicide, criminal recklessness, driving while suspended causing death and Level 6 felonies of driving while suspended causing bodily injury and reckless driving.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
24 June 2025
-
She was arraigned and charged with operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury, misleading a police investigation, and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash causing personal injury.—
Rick Sobey,
Boston Herald,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
In this framing, Earth’s challenges become just another set of engineering problems, solvable by recreating terrestrial conditions elsewhere.—
Dr. Alex Gold,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
-
The predominant color in both hotels is white, but as their names imply, Stella Nova is accented with cooler tones and starry vibes while Terra Nova has warmer, more terrestrial theming.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Adjective
-
His earthly travails were soul-sapping and then some.—
George Varga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 June 2025
-
The Yoruba people believe that the Osun-Osogbo grove, which sprawls across 185 acres of dense forest, is the goddess Osun’s earthly home.—
Ogar Monday,
Christian Science Monitor,
8 May 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
Cite this Entry
“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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