1
as in temporal
having to do with life on earth especially as opposed to that in heaven
a time of year when people shouldn't focus on fleshly concerns, but instead on spiritual matters
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2
as in physical
of or relating to the human body
the fleshly eye sees the only finished painting, but the mind's eye sees the genius behind its creation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sensual
pleasing to the physical senses
returning campers looking forward to all the fleshly pleasures of home, including warm baths
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Recent Examples of fleshly
Murderbot has been realized in fleshly form in the sculpted body of Alexander Skarsgård, on the new Apple TV+ series of the same name.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
That was the thing about Succession — its characters were monstrous, but the show never lost sight of their fleshly fallibility, their doubts and vulnerabilities.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 May 2025
What the world desires, in short, is a glimpse of a video game, which no one will be able to play until 2025—a game that builds an entire alternative world, glowing with the promise of violence and other fleshly thrills.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2023
But the album offers more than deliciously hedonistic thrills: Thrusting us into their operatic world, this Brooklyn band makes peace with their dark memories and fleshly desires.
—Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023
When another girl, Addie (Mia Pak), tries to explain Jesus’ status as the Son of God—fully fleshly and fully divine—as the meeting of horizontal and vertical lines at the overlapping center of a Venn diagram, Beatrice fisks the idea earnestly.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
The grateful nutcracker becomes a living prince and leads Clara through a spinning snowstorm of ballerinas to a sugary kingdom where flamenco-style dancers spin with twisting torsos and entwining arms as fleshly embodiments of Spanish chocolate.
—Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022
There is a leveling effect to his approach, one that allows About Endlessness to find grandeur in the smallest of everyday moments while also highlighting the fallible, fleshly absurdity of even history’s most outsize figures.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2021
They were tempted by curiosity and hunger, by fleshly desires.
—Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2021
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 13 June 2025
That was the thing about Succession — its characters were monstrous, but the show never lost sight of their fleshly fallibility, their doubts and vulnerabilities.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 May 2025
What the world desires, in short, is a glimpse of a video game, which no one will be able to play until 2025—a game that builds an entire alternative world, glowing with the promise of violence and other fleshly thrills.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2023
But the album offers more than deliciously hedonistic thrills: Thrusting us into their operatic world, this Brooklyn band makes peace with their dark memories and fleshly desires.
—Pitchfork, 6 Dec. 2023
When another girl, Addie (Mia Pak), tries to explain Jesus’ status as the Son of God—fully fleshly and fully divine—as the meeting of horizontal and vertical lines at the overlapping center of a Venn diagram, Beatrice fisks the idea earnestly.
—Vinson Cunningham, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2022
The grateful nutcracker becomes a living prince and leads Clara through a spinning snowstorm of ballerinas to a sugary kingdom where flamenco-style dancers spin with twisting torsos and entwining arms as fleshly embodiments of Spanish chocolate.
—Sarah L. Kaufman, Washington Post, 25 Nov. 2022
There is a leveling effect to his approach, one that allows About Endlessness to find grandeur in the smallest of everyday moments while also highlighting the fallible, fleshly absurdity of even history’s most outsize figures.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 30 Apr. 2021
They were tempted by curiosity and hunger, by fleshly desires.
—Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The New Yorker, 18 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fleshly
Adjective
-
Generally, Proverbs-Job-Ecclesiastes can be viewed as a temporal trilogy reflecting certainty about wealth and health type rewards in this life for righteousness, with a transition to questioning any such connection, and then cynicism.—
Walt Shelton,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
-
In recent years, the editors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have added factors ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence into their temporal calculus.—
Jonathon Keats,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Creating spaces — physical or digital — that evoke deep emotional connection builds loyalty that no marketing funnel can replicate.—
Sudhir Gupta,
Rolling Stone,
9 July 2025
-
Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Joined by four extremely sensual dancers, Starr powered through her hits, fully choreographed and vocally impressive.—
jsonline.com,
jsonline.com,
4 July 2025
-
To preserve two years worth of wartime love letters that are frisky, sensual, imaginative and, above all, honest.—
Michael Barnes,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
Even their most mundane activities, to Domoslay-Paul, were enchanting.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
30 June 2025
-
The play’s about choices, both mundane and gripping, and where those choices have taken the title character over her lifetime with children and three husbands.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Of the threats of bodily harm and even death to men who got in the way.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
-
Aren’t dino farms, in which the poor creatures are kept alive just to be drained of their precious bodily fluids, the next step?—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Flying drones may avoid some problems navigating terrestrial obstacles and potentially be less intrusive and faster.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 July 2025
-
As a result, Martian dust devils can be thrice as large as their terrestrial analogues.—
Unnati Ashar,
Space.com,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
The result is a project that transformed a site of heavenly aspirations into one of earthly delight.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
27 June 2025
-
Much like those on this earthly plane, the way to a spirit’s heart is through his or her stomach.—
Vanessa Anderson,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
Adjective
-
In 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 paved the way for alternatives to animal testing, and in December 2023, an NIH advisory committee made similar recommendations to develop non-animal methods.—
Rachel Fobar,
Vox,
14 May 2025
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Rendering is a process that transforms animal by-products, like leftover meat and fats...and yes, chicken feet, into usable materials, such as animal feed, fuel, and other industrial products.—
Phil Kafarakis,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fleshly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://x0upouf933.proxynodejs.usequeue.com/thesaurus/fleshly. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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