fleshly

American  

[flesh-lee] / ˈflɛʃ li /

adjective

fleshlier, fleshliest

1. of or relating to the flesh or body; bodily, corporeal, or physical.

2. carnal; sensual.

   fleshly pleasures.

3. worldly, rather than spiritual.

4. having a sensuous quality.

   the fleshly poetry of the 17th century.

5. Obsolete. having much flesh; fleshy.

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fleshly British  

/ ˈflɛʃlɪ /

adjective

1. relating to the body, esp its sensual nature; carnal

   fleshly desire

2. worldly as opposed to spiritual

3. fleshy; fat

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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

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

It is almost a renunciation, as if we could cede the part of ourselves that relies on fleshly sustenance so that only the essential remains.

From New York Times • May 11, 2022

“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

Said I, 'Wheeling a pair o' lies, one stony, one fleshly, may be work, and hard work, but honest work 'tis not.

From The Cloister and the Hearth A Tale of the Middle Ages by Reade, Charles