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
Synonym Usage
See carnal.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
“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
John diagnoses Alma’s hysteria — saying she has an “irritated doppelgänger” — as Alma denounces his fleshly weakness.
From New York Times • May 3, 2018
His fleshly condition is called flesh and blood.
From The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church Containing the Sermones Catholici, or Homilies of ?lfric, in the Original Anglo-Saxon, with an English Version. Volume I. by Aelfric, Abbot of Eynsham
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.
