fleshly
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the flesh or body; bodily, corporeal, or physical.
-
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
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
In the news stories and legal opinions that followed Mr. Bourgeois’s conviction and subsequent death sentence, JaKaren’s suffering is vivid, palpable, fleshly.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2020
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
As she was returning, the first morning cock-crow also warned her to hasten, lest daybreak should find her triple unit outside of its fleshly “house.”
From Fetichism in West Africa Forty Years' Observations of Native Customs and Superstitions by Robert Hamill Nassau
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
