The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Source: tatoeba (2454)
Flesh
/flɛʃ/
Synonyms for "flesh" (265 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (53)
adamagnatealiveall that livesanatomyancestryanimalismanimalityaspicbarbecuebeastlinessbestialitybiospherebiotabloodblood relationblood relativebodilinessbodilybody
Show 22 more words
boiled meatbonesbouillibrawnbrutalitybrutishnessbuffcarcasscarnal naturecarnal-mindednesscarnalitycivetclansmanclayclodcoarsenesscoatcognatecoldnesscollateralcollateral relativecolor
Strong matches (80)
concretenessconnectionsconsanguineancorporalitycorporealcorporealitycorporealnesscorporeitycorpuscuticledermisdistaff sidedistant relationearthinessecosphereembodimentembodyenatefallen humanityfallen nature
Show 47 more words
fallen statefamilyfellfiberfigurefill infill outfleeceflesh and bloodfleshlinessflora and faunafolksforcemeatformframefrigidityfurfurringgamegeneration of mangenus homogermangrossnesshachishashhidehominidhominidaehomohomo sapienshulkhumanhuman familyhuman naturehuman racehuman specieshumanityhumankindimitation furimitation leatherimpotencein personin the fleshincorporateintegumentjacketjerky
Adjective(1 words)
corporeal form
Related words (132)
jointjugged harekinkindredkinfolkkinnerykinsfolkkinsmankinsmenkinswomankith and kinlapsed statele genre humainleatherleather paperleatheretteleatheroidlibidolivingliving matter
Show 93 more words
living naturelovelovemakingmanmankindmarriagematerial bodymaterialismmaterialitymaterialnessmeatmenue viandemincemortal fleshmortalitymortalsmusclenaturalnear relationnext of kinnonspiritualitynoosphereorganic matterorganic natureorganized matterouter layerouter skinpeltpeltrypemmicanpeoplepersonpersonallyphysicalphysical bodyphysicalityphysicalnessphysiquepigmentpinkplasmposteritypostlapsarian statepot roastpotencyrace of manrawhiderealreallyrelationsrelativerelativesrindroastsausage meatscrapplesensualitysex drivesexinesssexual instinctsexual urgesexualismsexualitysheathsibsiblingskinskinssomaspear kinspear sidespindle kinspindle sidestocksubstantialitysubstantiateswinishnesssword sidetegumentthe beastthe fleshthe offending adamthe old adamtissuetorsotribesmantrunkunspiritualityuterine kinvairvenisonviandevoluptuousness
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: pulp, abalone, adam, agnate, alive.
- Sentence evidence is available for flesh, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "flesh".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "flesh"
Keep "flesh" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "flesh" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "flesh", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "flesh" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
12 entriesMore specific
15 entriesCollocations
12 entriesInflections
3 entriesDerivations
3 entriesTranslations
156 translations across 88 languages.
Akan
2 entries- nam noun (body tissue)
- ɛnam noun (body tissue)
Albanian
2 entries- mish noun (body tissue)
- tul noun (body tissue)
Ancient Greek
2 entries- σάρξ noun (body tissue)
- χρώς noun (skin)
Arabic
2 entries- لحم noun (body tissue)
- لَحْم noun (body tissue)
Armenian
1 entries- միս noun (body tissue)
Belarusian
2 entries- мяса noun (body tissue)
- це́ла noun (body tissue)
Bikol Central
1 entries- unod noun (body tissue)
Bulgarian
3 entries- кожа noun (skin)
- месо́ noun (body tissue)
- телесен noun (colour)
Catalan
2 entries- carn noun (body tissue)
- carn noun (colour)
Chinese
1 entries- 肉色 noun (colour)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 肉色 noun (colour)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 肉 noun (body tissue)
- 肉色 noun (colour)
Czech
1 entries- maso noun (body tissue)
Danish
3 entries- hud noun (skin)
- kød noun (body tissue)
- kødfarve noun (colour)
Dutch
3 entries- mensenkleur noun (colour)
- vel noun (skin)
- vlees noun (body tissue)
Egyptian
1 entries- i-W:f-F51:Z2ss noun (body tissue)
Esperanto
1 entries- karno noun (body tissue)
Estonian
1 entries- liha noun (body tissue)
Faroese
1 entries- kjøt noun (body tissue)
Finnish
2 entries- iho noun (skin)
- liha noun (body tissue)
French
4 entries- carnation noun (colour)
- chair noun (body tissue)
- chair noun (colour)
- peau noun (skin)
Galician
4 entries- carne noun (body tissue)
- carne noun (colour)
- pel noun (skin)
- pelexo noun (skin)
German
4 entries- Fleisch noun (body tissue)
- Fleischfarbe noun (colour)
- Haut noun (skin)
- ausarbeiten verb (To add details)
Gothic
1 entries- 𐌼𐌰𐌼𐌼𐍉 noun (body tissue)
Greek
2 entries- δέρμα noun (skin)
- σάρκα noun (body tissue)
Hakka Chinese
1 entries- 肉色 noun (colour)
Hawaiian
1 entries- ʻiʻo noun (body tissue)
Hebrew
1 entries- בָּשָׂר noun (body tissue)
Hindi
2 entries- क्रव्य noun (body tissue)
- मांस noun (body tissue)
Hungarian
2 entries- bőr noun (skin)
- hús noun (body tissue)
Icelandic
1 entries- hold noun (body tissue)
Ido
1 entries- karno noun (body tissue)
Indonesian
2 entries- daging noun (body tissue)
- merah daging noun (colour)
Iranun
1 entries- sapu' noun (body tissue)
Irish
1 entries- feoil noun (body tissue)
Italian
1 entries- carne noun (body tissue)
Japanese
4 entries- うすだいだい noun (colour)
- ペールオレンジ noun (colour)
- 肉 noun (body tissue)
- 肌色 noun (colour)
Kaurna
1 entries- itya noun (body tissue)
Khmer
2 entries- មំសៈ noun (body tissue)
- សាច់ noun (body tissue)
Korean
4 entries- 고기 noun (body tissue)
- 살 noun (body tissue)
- 살구색 noun (colour)
- 살색 noun (colour)
Lao
2 entries- ຊີ້ນ noun (body tissue)
- ມັງສະ noun (body tissue)
Latgalian
1 entries- mīsa noun (body tissue)
Latin
2 entries- carō noun (body tissue)
- carō noun (skin)
Latvian
2 entries- miesa noun (body tissue)
- ķermenis noun (body tissue)
Lithuanian
1 entries- kūnas noun (body tissue)
Low German
1 entries- Fleesch noun (body tissue)
Lutuv
1 entries- saa noun (body tissue)
Macedonian
1 entries- месо noun (body tissue)
Malayalam
1 entries- മാംസം noun (body tissue)
Manchu
1 entries- ᠶᠠᠯᡳ noun (body tissue)
Māori
3 entries- kiko noun (body tissue)
- tōrōpuku noun (body tissue)
- uaua noun (body tissue)
Navajo
1 entries- atsįʼ noun (body tissue)
Norwegian
1 entries- hudfarge noun (colour)
Odia
1 entries- ମାଂସ noun (body tissue)
Persian
1 entries- گوشت noun (body tissue)
Piedmontese
1 entries- carn noun (body tissue)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- Fleesch noun (body tissue)
Polish
3 entries- ciało noun (body tissue)
- cielisty noun (colour)
- mięso noun (body tissue)
Portuguese
4 entries- bege noun (colour)
- carne noun (body tissue)
- pele noun (skin)
- enfeitar verb (To add details)
Romanian
1 entries- carne noun (body tissue)
Russian
4 entries- ко́жа noun (skin)
- мягкая ткань noun (body tissue)
- мясо noun (body tissue)
- плоть noun (body tissue)
Sanskrit
1 entries- क्रव्य noun (body tissue)
Scottish Gaelic
2 entries- craiceann noun (skin)
- feòil noun (body tissue)
Slovene
1 entries- meso noun (body tissue)
Spanish
3 entries- carne noun (body tissue)
- carne noun (colour)
- pellejo noun (skin)
Sranan Tongo
1 entries- meti noun (body tissue)
Swahili
3 entries- chembechembe noun (body tissue)
- ngozi noun (skin)
- jazia verb (To add details)
Swedish
1 entries- kött noun (body tissue)
Tajik
1 entries- гӯшт noun (body tissue)
Tarifit
2 entries- aksum noun (body tissue)
- aysum noun (body tissue)
Telugu
1 entries- కండ noun (body tissue)
Thai
1 entries- เนื้อ noun (body tissue)
Tibetan
1 entries- ཤ་ noun (body tissue)
Tigrinya
1 entries- ስጋ noun (body tissue)
Tok Pisin
2 entries- mit noun (body tissue)
- skin noun (skin)
Turkish
2 entries- deri noun (skin)
- et noun (body tissue)
Udmurt
1 entries- сӥль noun (body tissue)
Ugaritic
1 entries- 𐎌𐎛𐎗 noun (body tissue)
Ukrainian
4 entries- м'я́со noun (body tissue)
- плоть noun (body tissue)
- ті́ло noun (body tissue)
- тілесний noun (colour)
Urdu
4 entries- جلد noun (skin)
- لحم noun (body tissue)
- مانس noun (body tissue)
- پوست noun (skin)
Uyghur
1 entries- ئەت noun (body tissue)
Uzbek
1 entries- et noun (body tissue)
Volapük
2 entries- mid noun (body tissue)
- skin noun (skin)
Walloon
1 entries- tchå noun (body tissue)
Welsh
1 entries- cnawd noun (body tissue)
White Hmong
1 entries- nqaij noun (body tissue)
Yurok
1 entries- tewon noun (body tissue)
Zulu
1 entries- inyama noun (body tissue)
Sample sentences
26 total sentences available.
Lions feed on flesh.
Source: tatoeba (29840)
The lion ripped the flesh from the dead giraffe.
Source: tatoeba (29843)
In due course, eating meat will be considered as horrible as eating human flesh.
Source: tatoeba (30303)
Showing 4 of 26 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "flesh"?
Closest matches include pulp, abalone, adam, agnate, alive.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "flesh"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.