carnality

American  

[kahr-nal-i-tee] / ˌkɑrˈnæl ɪ ti /

Rarely carnalism

noun

1. preoccupation with, or indulgence in, the flesh or the body and its passions and appetites; sensuality.

   Giving in to the lures of carnality—whether that means porn or real-life promiscuity—is damaging to everyone concerned.

2. the quality or state of being merely temporal or worldly; lack of spiritual vitality or maturity.

   Complaints about salary, jealousy, ambition for a reputation, and other forms of carnality show how little we ministers are separated from the world.

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Etymology

Origin of carnality

First recorded in 1400–1450; carnal ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

His songs married carnality and spirituality, with an echo of the little boy singing in the gospel choir of his father’s church.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 20, 2025

Purcell’s stripped-down staging rarely visualizes Rivera’s depiction of a disintegrating city, redirecting focus to the dialogue’s poetic carnality, with everyone constantly worrying whether they’ll eat or be eaten.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 17, 2021

For all their freedoms and frank carnality, the movies of Hollywood’s pre-Code era — roughly 1929 to 1934 — were often about sacrifice.

From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2020

Central to the book is the tension between their shifts along the axes of cultural-philosophical speculation and carnality.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 5, 2015

They hold vessels because, continually preparing for battle, they restrained themselves from all the foulness of carnality.

From The Deeds of God Through the Franks by Levine, Robert