sensual

sensual — adjective

1. relating to the pleasure people feel through their physical senses — especially

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

relating to the pleasure people feel through their physical senses — especially the kind of pleasure connected to sexual desire or satisfaction.

Example

Amira spoke in a low, slow voice with a sensual quality that silenced the room.

collocation: sensual voice / sensual quality

Tara's dance movements were slow and sensual, drawing surprised gasps from the watching crowd.

collocation: sensual movements

Common collocations
  • sensual pleasure
  • sensual experience
  • sensual voice
  • sensual dance
  • sensual movement
  • sensual feel
  • sensual touch
  • sensual scene
  • sensual quality
Synonyms
  • voluptuous

    focuses on a curvy, attractive body shape that gives sensual pleasure, especially describing a woman's figure

  • erotic

    more directly and explicitly sexual than 'sensual,' often describing art, images, or literature

  • seductive

    describes something that deliberately tries to attract someone sexually

  • carnal

    formal and literary; emphasizes the physical or bodily appetites as opposed to the spiritual

Antonyms
  • chaste

    describes something pure, modest, and free from sexual suggestion

  • ascetic

    describes a lifestyle that rejects physical pleasures for spiritual or religious reasons

  • spiritual

    relating to the soul or inner self rather than the body or physical senses

Grammar Patterns

sensual + noun

Usage Note

Distinguish from 'sensuous.' While both relate to the senses, 'sensuous' describes aesthetic or artistic pleasure (e.g., the sensuous beauty of a painting), whereas 'sensual' involves physical or sexual gratification.

Common Mistakes

The sensuous pleasure of a hot bath relaxed her completely.' (when meaning physical comfort)
The sensual pleasure of a hot bath relaxed her completely.
For physical bodily pleasure (not artistic), use 'sensual.'
The building's sensual curves pleased the architecture critics.' (when meaning aesthetic)
The building's sensuous curves pleased the architecture critics.
For visual or artistic beauty without sexual suggestion, use 'sensuous.'

Word family

  • sensuality
    nounC1
  • sensualist
    nounC1
  • sensually
    adverbC1
  • sensuous
    adjectiveB2
  • sensuousness
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words relate to physical attraction or sensory pleasure, but their connotations differ sharply. 'Sensual' implies enjoyment of the body's physical senses, often with a sexual undercurrent — a sensual massage, a sensual voice. 'Sensuous' describes purely aesthetic pleasure of the senses without sexual suggestion: sensuous music, sensuous fabric. 'Erotic' is directly and explicitly sexual, used for art, literature, or imagery intended to arouse. 'Voluptuous' focuses on a full, curvy body shape that suggests sensual pleasure, almost always describing a woman. 'Seductive' describes behaviour or appearance designed to tempt someone sexually. For example: 'The room had a sensuous elegance' (aesthetic), but 'Her voice had a sensual warmth' (physical/sexual).

sensual ↗sensuouserotic ↗voluptuousseductive ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • have a sensual quality
  • sensual in nature

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word comes from Latin 'sensus' (feeling, perception, sense). In Late Latin, 'sensualis' appeared, meaning 'endowed with feeling, sensitive.' It passed into Old French as 'sensuel' and entered English around the 1400s. For several centuries it carried a neutral meaning of 'relating to the senses,' but by the 1600s it had developed a stronger focus on bodily appetites and sexual pleasure, which is the dominant meaning today.