Carnal
/ˈkɑɹnəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjRelating to the physical and especially sexual appetites or activities.
adjWorldly or earthly; temporal.
Sentence Examples
Layla had insatiable carnal needs.
There is a constant perception of carnal joy as spiritual.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The monk vowed to renounce all ____ desires and live a pure life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The monks lived a life that was free from all ____ desires and greed.
Word Origin & History
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).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The monk vowed to renounce all ____ desires and live a pure life.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The monks lived a life that was free from all ____ desires and greed.