fleshly
/fleshly/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Relating to the physical body and its desires, especially those considered base or worldly: "fleshly" describes things pertaining to the body, its appetites, or sensual pleasures, often with a connotation of being non-spiritual or indulgent.
- Worldly, not spiritual: It can also characterize concerns, interests, or pleasures that are of the physical world rather than the intellectual or spiritual realm.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- He struggled against his own fleshly desires. (He fought against his own physical, bodily desires.)
- The monk sought to transcend fleshly concerns. (The monk aimed to rise above worldly, bodily concerns.)
- The painting celebrated the fleshly beauty of the human form. (The painting celebrated the physical, sensual beauty of the human body.)
Advanced Usage
- "fleshly pleasures": pleasures derived from the body and senses.
- He warned against the pursuit of fleeting fleshly pleasures.
- "fleshly weakness": a moral or physical failing attributed to the body's nature.
- She viewed her impatience as a fleshly weakness.
Variants and Related Words
- Flesh (n): the soft substance of the body; the physical, often mortal, aspect of human existence.
- The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
- Fleshy (adj): having a lot of flesh; plump. (Note: This is distinct from "fleshly," which relates to desires, not physical plumpness.)
- a fleshy fruit
Synonyms
- Carnal: relating to physical, especially sexual, needs and activities.
- Sensual: relating to or involving gratification of the senses; physically pleasing.
- Bodily: of or relating to the body.
- Worldly: of or concerned with material values or ordinary life rather than spiritual affairs.
Antonyms
- Spiritual: relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.
- Intellectual: relating to the intellect or mind.
- Ascetic: characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from indulgence.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "The flesh is weak": an expression acknowledging human vulnerability to physical temptations and desires.
- I know I shouldn't eat the cake, but the flesh is weak.
Adjective
- marked by the appetites and passions of the body
- animal instincts
- carnal knowledge
- fleshly desire
- a sensual delight in eating
- music is the only sensual pleasure without vice