Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "bodily" []

  • Of, relating to, or belonging to the body. (adjective)
  • Physical as opposed to mental or spiritual: bodily welfare. (adjective)
  • In the flesh; in person: bodily but not mentally present. (adverb)
  • As a complete physical entity: carried the child bodily from the room. (adverb)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "bodily" in a sentence
  • "Because health officials and journalists used the phrase "bodily fluids" instead of specifying semen, blood and vaginal secretions, many people feared they could contract AIDS from toilet seats or drinking fountains."
  • "For not every fear justifies the action it produceth, but the fear only of corporeal hurt, which we call bodily fear, and from which a man cannot see how to be delivered but by the action."
  • "Oh, you don't know what the doubt is to me! after my share in the evil, the anxiety is doubly intense! and I cannot see much demonstration except in his sadness, which you call bodily weakness. '"