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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of carnal are animal, fleshly, and sensual. While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," 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 can animal be used instead of carnal?

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

led a mindless animal existence

How do fleshly and carnal relate to one another?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal.

a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

When is it sensible to use sensual instead of carnal?

While in some cases nearly identical to carnal, 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 carnal Mister Romantic may be an equal-opportunity flirt, but there’s no carnal undercurrent to his desires. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2025 With Sexy Drill, the artist and their carnal musings take centerstage. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2025 Music does in deed play a big role in the trailer, which shows off a rural Jim Crow Era South setting and sees Black people cutting loose in melodious and carnal celebration. Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Jan. 2025 There's two parts of us, our highest good, and then our carnal, material self. Daniela Avila, People.com, 28 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for carnal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnal
Adjective
  • But where Apex’s movement is fast-paced and its ever-dwindling map size forces players together over time to ratchet up tension, Marathon feels slow and mundane by comparison.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2025
  • Yet managers and leaders often struggle with how to help their employees find more meaningful moments in their work, especially when the tasks they are assigned are boring, mundane and tedious.
    Rachel Pacheco, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Rather than bearing imagery of the state or the monarchy, Elisabeth’s portraits were focused on her defining physical features, particularly her long, flowing hair.
    Elizabeth Djinis, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Teams from outside England also seem to struggle with Arsenal’s sheer athleticism — certainly Real Madrid struggled to keep pace with their physical output in the quarter-final.
    James McNicholas, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • This is a kind of peacocking that reads as sensual playful, and audacious.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 6 May 2025
  • That level of sensual confidence made Rossdale a standout in the film’s large ensemble cast, which includes Djimon Hounsou, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Rossdale’s childhood friend Rachel Weisz.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Although the Inouye Solar Telescope began operating from its perch on the Hawaiian volcano Haleakala in 2022, the addition of its latest key piece of equipment provides a major boost to its spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution to the most powerful telescope of its kind in the world.
    Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025
  • All the while, amid this cultural and temporal span, Moss has been stepping out in looks that speak to her expansive and most dominant role—as a style icon across multiple eras.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In the 2024 federal trial Haley was convicted of deliberate indifference resulting serious bodily injury and deprivation of civil rights, and could face a life sentence in prison.
    James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
  • Prosecutors allege Figueroa used a handgun to cause great bodily injury or death.
    Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2025
Adjective
  • The European Space Agency (ESA) is two dozen steps closer to launching Plato, a spacecraft that will search for terrestrial planets outside of our solar system, after the installation of 24 of its 26 cameras.
    Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 8 May 2025
  • The findings provide a new understanding of how and when pterosaurs became agile ground-dwellers who effectively navigated a range of terrestrial habitats.
    Stephanie Edwards, Discover Magazine, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • One study of about 200 Korean scientists found that animal researchers had significantly higher anxiety scores than non-animal researchers.
    Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The lower the figure of magnitude, the brighter the star and Sirius is one of only four stars seen from our earthly perspective with a negative magnitude (-1.45).
    Joe Rao, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2025
  • Following a ceremony, the body is dressed in a white cassock – a long robe with 33 buttons, one for each year of the earthly life of Jesus.
    George Petras, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Carnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnal. Accessed 12 May. 2025.

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