Meanings
comparative more carnal · superlative most carnal
- Relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites or activities.
At the town of Mendes, in the principal temple, there was a living male goat, with which, if the statement of Herodotus is to be accepted, naked female worshippers actually had carnal intercourse.
1941, George Ryley Scott, Phallic Worship: A History of Sex and Sex Rites in Relation to the Religions of All Races from Antiquity to the Present Day, London: T. Werner Laurie, page 29
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Late Latincarnālis“fleshy”
- Old Frenchcharnel
- Middle Englishcarnal
- Englishcarnal
From Middle English carnal, from Old French charnel, from Late Latin carnālis (“fleshy”), from oblique stem of Latin carō, carnis (“meat, flesh”) + -ālis (whence -al).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جَسَدُيّ
- جَسَدُيّ (jasaduyy)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
Bulgarian плътски, светски
- плътски (plătski)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- светски (svetski)worldly or earthly; temporal
- телесен (telesen)of or relating to the body or flesh
Catalan carnal, carnal
- carnalrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- carnalof or relating to the body or flesh
Esperanto fivolupta, karna
- fivoluptarelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- karnaof or relating to the body or flesh
Finnish himokas, maailmallinen
- himokasrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- maailmallinenworldly or earthly; temporal
- maallinenworldly or earthly; temporal
- ajallinenworldly or earthly; temporal
- ruumiillinenof or relating to the body or flesh
- lihallinenof or relating to the body or flesh
French charnel
- charnelrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
German fleischlich, körperlich
- fleischlichrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- körperlichrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- sexuellrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- sinnlichrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- diesseitigworldly or earthly; temporal
Greek σαρκικός
- σαρκικός (sarkikós)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
Persian تنانه
- تنانه (tanâne)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
Polish cielesny
- cielesnyrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
Portuguese carnal, carnal
- carnalrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- carnalworldly or earthly; temporal
- carnalof or relating to the body or flesh
Russian чувственный, плотский
- чувственный (čuvstvennyj)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- плотский (plotskij)relating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- земно́й (zemnój)worldly or earthly; temporal
- мирской (mirskoj)worldly or earthly; temporal
- телесный (telesnyj)of or relating to the body or flesh
- плотский (plotskij)of or relating to the body or flesh
Spanish carnal, carnal
- carnalrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- carnalworldly or earthly; temporal
- carnalof or relating to the body or flesh
Ukrainian земний
- земний (zemnyj)worldly or earthly; temporal
Welsh cnawdol, cnawdol
- cnawdolrelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites
- cnawdolof or relating to the body or flesh
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with carnal
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
carnal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal
“carnal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “carnal,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/carnal.
Source: carnal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.