ˈkärn ə l, ˈkȧn- adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Old North French or Late Latin; Old North French, from Late Latin carnalis (translation of Greek sarkikos ), from Latin carn-, caro flesh; akin to Greek keirein to cut — more at shear
1.
a. : bodily , corporeal
armed against ghostly as well as carnal attack — Bram Stoker
carnal interment
b. : consanguineous and bodily in relationship
the carnal mother of Christ
c. obsolete : bloodthirsty
2.
a. : marked by sexuality that is often frank, crude, and unrelieved by higher emotions
carnal infatuation — T.S.Eliot
b. : relating to or given to crude bodily pleasures
gluttony and other carnal traits
3. : unspiritual:
a. : temporal
the superiority of the spiritual and eternal over the carnal — H.O.Taylor
b. : worldly
should abstain from singing vain and carnal ballads — Charles Kingsley
c. : fleshy , sensual
with red and bloated cheeks and carnal eyes — Nathaniel Hawthorne
Synonyms:
fleshly , sensual , animal : carnal , once equivalent to bodily or physical, now refers almost exclusively to sexual or other sensual actions or interests
Barbara Villiers … is the most unpleasant of Charles II's mistresses … he was besotted by her purely carnal attractions — Times Literary Supplement
fleshly is close to carnal in meaning but less severe and sometimes a little apologetic in suggestion
punishments were set for the fleshly sins of monks and nuns and clergy — H.O.Taylor
sensual may simply indicate gratification of any bodily desire or pleasure
his feet and hands were always cold and there was for him an almost sensual satisfaction to be had from … letting the hot sun beat down on him — Sherwood Anderson
Usu. it indicates concentration on bodily satisfaction and absence of anything intellectual or spiritual
it ceases to be sensuous and becomes sensual. This isolation of sense is not characteristic of esthetic objects but of such things as narcotics, sexual orgasms, and gambling — John Dewey
Often it implies gross sexuality
a coarse heavy face, loose-featured, red, and sensual — Thomas Wolfe
animal , often without derogation, simply indicates bodily or sentient characteristics common to both man and animal or traits resembling those found in animals rather than man
the state in his view is not merely a convenient machinery that raises a man above his animal wants — G.L.Dickinson
he taught the boy boxing … and superintended the direction of his animal vigor — George Meredith