Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites.
  • adjective Worldly or earthly; temporal.
  • adjective Of or relating to the body or flesh; bodily.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to the flesh; hence, flesh-eating; ravenous; bloody.
  • Of the same blood or descent; natural; kindred; german.
  • Pertaining to the flesh or the body, its passions and its appetites; fleshly; sensual; lustful; gross; impure.
  • Not spiritual; merely human; not partaking of anything divine or holy; unregenerate; unsanctified.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the body or its appetites; animal; fleshly; sensual; given to sensual indulgence; lustful; human or worldly as opposed to spiritual.
  • adjective obsolete Flesh-devouring; cruel; ravenous; bloody.
  • adjective sexual intercourse; -- used especially of an unlawful act on the part of the man.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
  • adjective worldly or earthly; temporal
  • adjective of or relating to the body or flesh

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by the appetites and passions of the body
  • adjective of or relating to the body or flesh

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old North French carnel, from Latin carnālis, from Latin carō, carn-, flesh; see sker- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English, from Latin carnālis ("fleshly, of the flesh (Medieval Latin natural, of the same blood or descent)"), from caro ("flesh").

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Examples

Comments

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  • When one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal (mere human beings)? —1 Corinthians 3:4

    April 6, 2011

  • I'm carnal and proud!

    April 6, 2011