sensual

[sen-shoo-uhl]

adjective

pertaining to, inclined to, or preoccupied with the gratification of the senses or appetites; carnal; fleshly.

lacking in moral restraints; lewd or unchaste.

arousing or exciting the senses or appetites.

worldly; materialistic; irreligious.

of or relating to the senses or physical sensation; sensory.

pertaining to the philosophical doctrine of sensationalism.

Origin of sensual

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin sēnsuālis, equivalent to sēnsu-, stem of sēnsus sense + -ālis -al¹

Related formssen·su·al·ly, adverbhy·per·sen·su·al, adjectivehy·per·sen·su·al·ly, adverbhy·per·sen·su·al·ness, nounnon·sen·su·al, adjectivenon·sen·su·al·ly, adverbsub·sen·su·al, adjectivesub·sen·su·al·ly, adverbtrans·sen·su·al, adjectivetrans·sen·su·al·ly, adverbun·sen·su·al, adjectiveun·sen·su·al·ly, adverb

Can be confusedsensual sensuous (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonyms for sensual

2. lascivious.

Synonym study

1. Sensual, sensuous, voluptuous refer to experience through the senses. Sensual refers, often unfavorably, to the enjoyments derived from the senses, especially from the gratification or indulgence of physical appetites: a sensual delight in eating; sensual excesses. Sensuous refers, favorably or literally, to what is experienced through the senses: sensuous impressions; sensuous poetry. Voluptuous implies the luxurious gratification of sensuous or sensual desires: voluptuous joys; voluptuous beauty. See also carnal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sensually

Contemporary Examples of sensually

A beautiful, naked, self-confident woman, sensually cradling...a cod?
'An Inconvenient Truth' for Fish
Anne McElvoy
June 17, 2009

Historical Examples of sensually

For a moment the thought of her flung across the bed and weeping stirred him sensually.
Erik Dorn
Ben Hecht
She loved me intellectually and sensually, but not with the soul.
An Anarchist Woman
Hutchins Hapgood
It was as if her hands, sensually understanding, were reaching voluptuously for his heart.
Narcissus
Evelyn Scott
The humor of it came home to her—that she should sensually feel the cold.
Ewing\'s Lady
Harry Leon Wilson
They're utilizing virtue as a cloak for the sensually tantalizing discussion of immorality.
Gargoyles
Ben Hecht

British Dictionary definitions for sensually

sensual

adjective

of or relating to any of the senses or sense organs; bodily

strongly or unduly inclined to gratification of the senses

tending to arouse the bodily appetites, esp the sexual appetite

of or relating to sensualism

Derived Formssensually, adverbsensualness, noun

Word Origin for sensual

C15: from Late Latin sensuālis, from Latin sēnsus sense . Compare French sensuel, Italian sensuale

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sensually

sensual

adj.

early 15c., "carnal, unspiritual;" mid-15c., "of or pertaining to the senses," from Middle French sensuel (15c.) and directly from Late Latin sensualis "endowed with feeling" (see sensuality). Meaning "connected with gratification of the senses," especially "lewd, unchaste" is attested from late 15c.

sensually in Medicine

sensual

[sĕn′shōō-əl]

adj.

Relating to or affecting any of the senses or a sense organ; sensory.

Of, relating to, given to, or providing gratification of the physical and especially the sexual appetites.