fleshly
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the flesh or body; bodily, corporeal, or physical.
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carnal; sensual.
fleshly pleasures.
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worldly, rather than spiritual.
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having a sensuous quality.
the fleshly poetry of the 17th century.
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Obsolete. having much flesh; fleshy.
adjective
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relating to the body, esp its sensual nature; carnal
fleshly desire
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worldly as opposed to spiritual
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fleshy; fat
Related Words
See carnal.
Other Word Forms
- fleshliness noun
Etymology
Origin of fleshly
before 900; Middle English; Old English flǣsclic. See flesh, -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In early Christianity, spiritual warfare meant one was to resist the Devil by engaging in forms of ascetic behavior, mastering fleshly desires, and cultivating Christian virtues like humility, self-control, and love of enemies.
From Salon • Jan. 31, 2024
Two weeks prior to “Subspace Rhapsody,” they aired a crossover with the animated spinoff “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” in which cartoon characters became flesh and fleshly characters cartoons.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2023
“There were some fleshly remains and the odor was so foul,” the villager said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2021
What if the fear of machines “like us” masks a deeper terror, the terror of machine agency that disdains language and exceeds fleshly containment?
From The New Yorker • Apr. 15, 2019
My heart beat thickly in mine ears; The lids may shut out fleshly fears, But still the spirit sees and hears,— Its eyes are lidless, Rosaline!
From Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by Lowell, James Russell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.