CARNAL Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'carnal' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of carnal are animal , fleshly , and sensual . While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," carnal may mean only this but more often connotes derogatorily an action or manifestation of a person's lower nature. // a slave to carnal desires

Q: When can 'animal' be used instead of 'carnal'?

While the synonyms animal and carnal are close in meaning, animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person. // led a mindless animal existence

Q: How do 'fleshly' and 'carnal' relate to one another?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal . // a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

Q: When is it sensible to use 'sensual' instead of 'carnal'?

While in some cases nearly identical to carnal , sensual may apply to any gratification of a bodily desire or pleasure but commonly implies sexual appetite with absence of the spiritual or intellectual. // fleshpots providing sensual delights

carnal

adjective

ˈkär-nᵊl

Definition of carnal

as in mundane

having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven the preacher warned that those who were interested only in carnal pursuits would not see the kingdom of heaven

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in physical

of or relating to the human body a missionary who tends to the carnal needs of the people as well as to their spiritual concerns

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sensual

pleasing to the physical senses carnal attractions of that gambling mecca in the desert

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word carnal different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of carnal are animal, fleshly, and sensual. While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," carnal may mean only this but more often connotes derogatorily an action or manifestation of a person's lower nature.

a slave to carnal desires

When can animal be used instead of carnal?

While the synonyms animal and carnal are close in meaning, animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person.

led a mindless animal existence

How do fleshly and carnal relate to one another?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal.

a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

When is it sensible to use sensual instead of carnal?

While in some cases nearly identical to carnal, sensual may apply to any gratification of a bodily desire or pleasure but commonly implies sexual appetite with absence of the spiritual or intellectual.

fleshpots providing sensual delights

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of carnal The girls follow his trail of tears to Divine (Erika Alexander), a charismatic preacher still in the carnal thrall of her time with their father. — Katie Walsh, Boston Herald, 15 May 2026 An intense, carnal need takes over mid-bite into a Loli Farms chicken leg. — Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026 Outside Richie’s bubble, disco was dying, and the glossy, often carnal stadium pop of the ’80s hadn’t quite arrived. — New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026 Emerald Fennell’s reimagined Wuthering Heights got audiences hot under the collar; so will Lena Dunham’s Good Sex, in which Natalie Portman plays a couples therapist discovering her own carnal desires. — Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for carnal

Recent Examples of Synonyms for carnal

Adjective

Tend to the mundane tasks occupying your to-do list, Sagittarius.

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 2 Sep. 2026
In the meantime, you’ll be preoccupied with more mundane things this month, like organizing your budget and catching up on correspondence.

— Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of mundane

Adjective

If physical gestures serve our relatives just fine, why did our own branch of the family tree gradually favor biological changes in our brains and anatomy that permitted our characteristic complexities in language and precision in speech?

— Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
His best explanations for this are pressure from shareholders to prioritize immediate returns over long-term investments, and years of obsession with digital that came at the expense of physical retail.

— Hilary Milnes, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of physical

Adjective

His focus is on himself, his music, his sensual pleasures and his determination not to be anyone’s victim.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Nick Interlandi’s soundscapes swell with the rat-a-tat of machine guns, or zero in on the precise, satisfying crunch of glass cracking under bone, while Oren Soffer’s cinematography runs the gamut from sickly clinical to startlingly sensual.

— Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of sensual

Adjective

The happy faces lit up their temporal cortex and caudate nucleus, which are parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive and reward processing.

— Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 28 Aug. 2026
The study also establishes Cygnus X-3 as the first ultra-high-energy gamma-ray source known to show temporal variability.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of temporal

Adjective

Defense attorneys in both cases argued that the defendants’ intent was in question, raising in argument the possibility that their clients were not trying to cause serious bodily injury or death.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
Both Walter and Lefever have pleaded not guilty to three counts of chronic neglect of a child causing great bodily harm and two counts of chronic neglect of a child causing emotional damage, his online records show.

— Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of bodily

Adjective

Over millions of years, those extra abdominal oars were simplified, repurposed, and eventually erased entirely, leaving behind the streamlined six-legged architects of Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 31 Aug. 2026
The fox is Svalbard's only native terrestrial predator, apart from the polar bear.

— Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of terrestrial

Adjective

Vegetable Oils Vegetable and seed oils are some of the richest non-animal dietary sources of CoQ10.

— Verywell Health, Verywell Health, 16 July 2026
Computer models and other non-animal testing methods still aren’t the best available science, critics contend.

— Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 21 June 2026

Definition of animal

Adjective

The eagerly anticipated new Los Angeles museum will welcome earthly visitors on September 22.

— Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Instead, Farage's main opponent is Count Binface, a political satirist posing as a comic space alien, with a keen interest in earthly matters, including the positioning of a hand dryer in the men's toilet in a pub in west London.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of earthly

Browse Nearby Words

carnages

carnal

carnality

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“Carnal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/carnal. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of carnal

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