FLESHLY Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

fleshly

adjective

ˈflesh-lē

Definition of fleshly next

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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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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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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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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleshly

Adjective

In the Paris Club, a similar power differential is reflected in the spatial and temporal arrangement of the procedures, which borders on the theatrical.

— Sven van Mourik, The Dial, 31 Mar. 2026
Traditional microscopy methods often lack either the spatial or temporal resolution needed to capture such phenomena.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 30 Mar. 2026

Definition of temporal

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“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.

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