sensually

American  

[sen-shoo-uh-lee] / ˈsɛn ʃu ə li /

adverb

1. in a carnal or fleshly way that is preoccupied with the gratification of the senses or physical appetites.

   In our sensually dominated society, the habit of acting out fantasy is becoming a cultural norm.

2. in an unchaste or immoral and unrestrained way.

   Today we are increasingly bombarded with sensually explicit images from the internet, television, movies, and print advertising.

3. in a way that arouses or excites the senses or physical appetites.

   This sensually calculated music is made to move people onto the dance floor—and beyond.

4. in a worldly, materialistic, or irreligious way.

   Those who think merely naturally and sensually do not allow their minds to be lifted up into spiritual light.

5. in a way that relates to the senses or physical sensation.

   Learning happens best when the demand on a learner's "working memory" meets the ability to sensually process the information through both channels—auditory and visual.

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Other Word Forms

• hypersensually adverb
• nonsensually adverb
• subsensually adverb
• transsensually adverb
• unsensually adverb

Etymology

Origin of sensually

sensual ( def. ) + -ly

Example Sentences

His debut album, “Lyfe 268-192,” released in 2004, introduced listeners to his sensually raspy voice through songs that covered love from many angles.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2022

Like its grifter characters, “El Planeta” signals luxury but it does not luxuriate, creating an experience that is more intellectually than sensually satisfying.

From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2021

It is almost a silent movie role for Hardy, but his potent, bullish, violent presence and fierce face – rugged, yet sensually full-lipped – make him a living cartoon of rage in the desert sun.

From The Guardian • May 14, 2020

The swatches of fake bel canto in the scenes from “Rosa” might have seemed musically interminable were it not for the fact that a listener could simply bask in Aldrich’s sensually rich mezzo.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2016

The impassioned lover of human relations is a finer being than the unimpassioned artist, just as the impassioned artist is a finer being than the man who loves sensually and materialistically.

From The Silent Isle by Benson, Arthur Christopher