Meaning & use
carnality
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Meaning
noununcountableliterary
The quality of being concerned with the body and its physical, especially sexual, appetites instead of the mind or spirit.
Grammar: Uncountable and abstract: the carnality of the scene.
Patterns
- the carnality of something
The preacher warned against the carnality of worldly pleasures.
Critics noted the open carnality of the painting.
The novel explores the tension between spirituality and carnality.
Common combinations
- raw carnality
- The film is known for its raw carnality.
- carnality of the flesh
- Monks sought escape from the carnality of the flesh.
- sheer carnality
- Her poems burn with sheer carnality.
- spirituality and carnality
- The play sets spirituality and carnality against each other.
- open carnality
- The open carnality of the lyrics shocked some listeners.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sensuality
- Sensuality is more positive and focuses on enjoyment of the senses, whereas carnality often carries moral disapproval.
- lust
- Lust names a strong desire itself, while carnality is the broader quality of being bodily-minded.
- worldliness
- Worldliness covers all earthly interests, including money, not only physical desire.
- fleshliness
- Fleshliness is a rarer, more old-fashioned way to say the same thing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: carnality or carnage?
carnality vs carnage
Carnage is mass killing and bloodshed, not bodily desire.
Practice
The sermon criticized the town's ___, urging people to value spiritual matters over bodily pleasures.
Choose one answer.
Carnality means preoccupation with bodily desires, which is what the sermon would criticize. Generosity, modesty and frugality are positive or neutral qualities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carnality”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.