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⇱ carnal - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

carnal

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkɑːnəl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈkɑrnəl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(kär′nl)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
car•nal /ˈkɑrnəl/USA pronunciation   adj. 
  1. relating to or characterized by the passions of the body;
    sexual:carnal desire.
car•nal•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
car•nal  (kär′nl),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. pertaining to or characterized by the flesh or the body, its passions and appetites;
    sensual:carnal pleasures.
  2. not spiritual;
    merely human;
    temporal;
    worldly:a man of secular, rather carnal, leanings.
  • Latin carnālis, equivalent. to carn- (stem of carō) flesh + -ālis -al1
  • Middle English 1350–1400
car•nal′i•ty, car′nal•ness, car′nal•ism, n. 
car′nal•ly, adv. 
    1. bodily, lustful, lecherous, lascivious, libidinous, concupiscent. Carnal, sensual, fleshly, animal all refer to bodily rather than rational or spiritual aspects of humans. Carnal, although it may refer to the body as opposed to the spirit, often refers to sexual needs or urges:carnal cravings, attractions, satisfactions.Sensual implies a suggestion of eroticism:sensual eyes; a sensual dance;
    it may also refer to experience of the senses:a sensual delight.Fleshly may refer to any physical need or appetite, sex as well as hunger and thirst:the fleshly sin of gluttony; fleshly yearnings.Animal refers to sexual appetites in a censorious way only; it may also describe pleasing or admirable physical characteristics or appearance:animal lust; to move with animal grace. 2. earthly, natural.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
carnal /ˈkɑːnəl/ adj
  1. relating to the appetites and passions of the body; sensual; fleshly
Etymology: 15th Century: from Late Latin: relating to flesh, from Latin carō fleshcarˈnality n ˈcarnally adv
'carnal' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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