bodily
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the body.
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corporeal or material, as contrasted with spiritual or mental.
adverb
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as a physical entity; as a complete physical unit.
The tornado picked him up bodily and threw him against the wall.
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in person.
You have to appear bodily at the box office in order to have your reservation confirmed.
adjective
adverb
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by taking hold of the body
he threw him bodily from the platform
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in person; in the flesh
Related Words
See physical.
Other Word Forms
- nonbodily adjective
Etymology
Origin of bodily
First recorded in 1250–1300, bodily is from the Middle English word bodylich. See body, -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.
He repeated the tests many times, altering the phrases to include words drawn from categories such as bodily references, film noir-style atmosphere and technical jargon.
From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026
The 2019 documentary short “Valerie,” directed by Souther, dropped the veil on Perrine’s battle with the illness, with her loss of bodily autonomy captured in the film.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026
Previous research has detected microplastics in nearly every organ, as well as in bodily fluids and even the placenta.
From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026
“The Great Shadow” benefits from Ms. Bauer’s keen sense for the way the bodily experience of disease so readily takes on psychological and spiritual freight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
“Pain is a useful symptom. Pain is a warning to us of bodily dangers.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
