carnal
48
8.2
- adjective
- /ˈkɑrnəl/
- NSFW
:
carnal
- But no, this was the real thing: carnal and thrilling and forbidden.
- carnal desire
- carnal knowledge
- carnal man
He runs a Speakeasy and he's like the sort of like carnal urges guy.
- He runs a Speakeasy and he's like the sort of like carnal urges guy.
- So he goes on and he says this person becomes inactive in carnal desires.
- It was the first time that he was going to have to defend himself about a real carnal mistake that he made.
Examples
-
How could she be speaking about such a carnal matter with him?
Fiction book (1991) -
Are you sure that you don't want to talk about... oh, carnal knowledge with a neighborhood girl?
-
I just find it too hard... it is... to give in to carnal pleasure.
-
You have to have carnal knowledge, of a lady this time, on the premises.
-
"And I do not wish to discuss such carnal matters while we are under this sacred roof!"
Fiction book (1994) -
There's more to marriage than carnal pleasure.
-
Beloved, I taught you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal desires which war against the soul.
-
But he was as bent on carnal embrace as a pilgrim was bent on the Ganges.
Fiction book (1990) -
The sight of your divine body fills my mind with sinful, lustful, carnal thoughts.
-
He struggled to resist his carnal desires during the summer romance.
Synonyms
∞
3.5
Relating to physical attraction, desire, or intimate acts between people
113
6.5
Causing sexual desire or showing sexual interest
35
6.0
Giving strong pleasure to the senses like touch, smell, or sight
16
7.0
Showing romantic or sexual feeling for someone
11
6.3
Wanting to have sex
10
9.9
Having too much interest in sex that makes other people uncomfortable
3
9.9
Having very strong sexual desire
1
8.8
Relating to bodily desires, especially sexual ones
1
7.3
Relating to strong physical desires rather than thought
1
9.9
About sexual desire and strong sexual feelings
1
9.9
Meant to cause sexual desire by words or actions
Antonyms
Compounds
- NSFW
2
8.3
Sex between people, usually meaning one person entering another, used in legal texts
How Sexual
Surface Forms
Morphology
carnal = carn + al
Although formed from the Latin combining form 'carn-' (flesh) + adjectival '-al', 'carn' is not a standalone English word and the specific meaning 'sexual/bodily' is not directly inferable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Carnal comes from the Latin root carn- meaning 'flesh' or 'meat'. You can see the same root in carnivore ('meat eater'), so carnal refers to the body and bodily pleasures—especially sexual desire—rather than the spiritual side.