SENSUAL Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'sensual' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sensual are animal , carnal , and fleshly . While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," sensual may apply to any gratification of a bodily desire or pleasure but commonly implies sexual appetite with absence of the spiritual or intellectual. // fleshpots providing sensual delights

Q: When could 'animal' be used to replace 'sensual'?

Although the words animal and sensual have much in common, animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person. // led a mindless animal existence

Q: When might 'carnal' be a better fit than 'sensual'?

In some situations, the words carnal and sensual are roughly equivalent. However, carnal may mean only this but more often connotes derogatorily an action or manifestation of a person's lower nature. // a slave to carnal desires

Q: How are the words 'fleshly' and 'carnal' related as synonyms of 'sensual'?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal . // a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

sensual

adjective

ˈsen(t)-sh(ə-)wəl

Definition of sensual next

as in sensuous

pleasing to the physical senses the sensual feel of a velvet shirt against the skin

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How is the word sensual different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of sensual are animal, carnal, and fleshly. While all these words mean "having a relation to the body," sensual may apply to any gratification of a bodily desire or pleasure but commonly implies sexual appetite with absence of the spiritual or intellectual.

fleshpots providing sensual delights

When could animal be used to replace sensual?

Although the words animal and sensual have much in common, animal stresses the physical as distinguished from the rational nature of a person.

led a mindless animal existence

When might carnal be a better fit than sensual?

In some situations, the words carnal and sensual are roughly equivalent. However, carnal may mean only this but more often connotes derogatorily an action or manifestation of a person's lower nature.

a slave to carnal desires

How are the words fleshly and carnal related as synonyms of sensual?

Fleshly is less derogatory than carnal.

a saint who had experienced fleshly temptations

Examples Sentences

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Recent Examples of sensual In the video the two singers donned elegant suits and sensual choreography while performing the romance song under a cinematic black-and-white aesthetic. —

Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024 Trotter reignited the label with her quietly sensual designs and her focus on textures would gel with Bottega Veneta and her predecessor’s work at the brand. —

Luisa Zargani, WWD, 6 Dec. 2024 Here were dazzling, golden scenes of saints and martyrs, some of the most sensual figuration ever put to brush. —

Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024 This transportive scent is lush and sensual, leading off with gourmand cherry and rum notes, before setting into a warm cacao, myrrh, and balsam base. —

Sarah Hoffmann, Allure, 5 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for sensual

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sensual

Adjective

Spicy and sensuous, the woody spicy scent features notes of incense and black pepper.

Celia Shatzman, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Such would-be scientific treatises in fact functioned more like manifestos, and decisively influenced Eliot and Ezra Pound’s generation to favor a poetics of the objective sensuous image over one of the dramatic declamatory mood.

Benjamin Kunkel, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024