sensual

[sen-shoo-uhl]

adjective

1. pertaining to, inclined to, or preoccupied with the gratification of the senses or appetites; carnal; fleshly.

2. lacking in moral restraints; lewd or unchaste.

   Synonyms: lascivious

3. arousing or exciting the senses or appetites.

4. worldly; materialistic; irreligious.

5. of or relating to the senses or physical sensation; sensory.

6. pertaining to the philosophical doctrine of sensationalism.

sensual

/ ˈsɛnsjʊəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to any of the senses or sense organs; bodily

2. strongly or unduly inclined to gratification of the senses

3. tending to arouse the bodily appetites, esp the sexual appetite

4. of or relating to sensualism

Other Word Forms

• sensually adverb
• sensualness noun
• hypersensual adjective
• hypersensualness noun
• nonsensual adjective
• subsensual adjective
• transsensual adjective
• unsensual adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensual¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin sēnsuālis, equivalent to sēnsu-, stem of sēnsus sense + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sensual¹

C15: from Late Latin sensuālis, from Latin sēnsus _sense . Compare French sensuel, Italian sensuale

Synonym Study

Sensual, sensuous, voluptuous refer to experience through the senses. Sensual refers, often unfavorably, to the enjoyments derived from the senses, especially from the gratification or indulgence of physical appetites: a sensual delight in eating; sensual excesses. Sensuous refers, favorably or literally, to what is experienced through the senses: sensuous impressions; sensuous poetry. Voluptuous implies the luxurious gratification of sensuous or sensual desires: voluptuous joys; voluptuous beauty. See also carnal.

Example Sentences

Men's suits were made softer and more sensual.

From BBC

A US senator had launched an investigation into the tech giant after notes in a leaked internal document suggested its AI products could have "sensual" chats with teenagers.

From BBC

It comes two weeks after a US senator launched an investigation into the tech giant after notes in a leaked internal document suggested its AI products could have "sensual" chats with teenagers.

From BBC

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also faced scrutiny after Reuters reported that an internal document allowed the company’s chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”

From Los Angeles Times

When it comes to breast milk ice cream, the act of eating it, namely in a cone, is oddly “sensual” yet “inherently childlike,” wrote Anna Sussman for Salon.

From Salon

Related Words

• exciting 
• sensuous 
• sexual 
• sexy 
• tactile 
• voluptuous