sen´su|al|ly

sen|su|al «SEHN shu uhl», adjective.

1. of, having to do with, or appealing to the bodily senses rather than the mind or soul: »

Gluttons derive sensual pleasure from eating.

2. liking the pleasures of the senses; indifferent to intellectual and moral interests: »

The average sensual man…whose ideal is the free, gay, pleasurable life of Paris (Matthew Arnold).

3. lustful; lewd; unchaste; indulging too much in the pleasures of the senses. SYNONYM(S): wanton, lecherous.

4. indicative of a sensual disposition: »

sensual lips.

5. of or having to do with the senses or sensation; sensory: »

Of music Doctor Johnson used to say that it was the only sensual pleasure without vice (William Seward).

6. having to do with the doctrine of sensationalism.

╂[< Latin sēnsuālis < sēnsus, -ūs; see etym. under sense (Cf. ↑sense)]

–sen´su|al|ly, adverb.

Synonym Study 1, 2 Sensual, sensuous mean of or concerned with the senses. Sensual implies pleasurable satisfaction to the bodily appetites and often suggests baseness or excess: »

the sensual delight in a hot bath after hard work. Profligates are basically sensual people.

Sensuous, always favorable, implies a high sensitivity to beauty and the pleasures of the senses and feelings: »

She derives sensuous delight from traditional church music.