Corporeal
/kɔːrˈpɔːriəl/
adjectiveC1
Definition
Corporeal describes anything that belongs to the body or physical world. It means something you can touch, see, or feel, as opposed to something only in the mind or spirit. For example, a ghost is not corporeal because it has no physical body.
Was this helpful?
⚡ See It in Action
Related to a physical body or material form
- •The corpse is a corporeal remains of a person.
- •The sculpture is a corporeal object you can see and touch.
- •Pain is a corporeal sensation felt in the body.
Having a real, physical presence (not spiritual or imaginary)
- •The ghost was said to have no corporeal form.
- •The spirit world is often described as non-corporeal.
- •In some stories, angels have corporeal bodies to interact with humans.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "corporeal" like "body" or "physical," but more formal and used in serious or academic talk
- ✓Picture a solid, real object like a chair or a person you can touch, not something invisible or imaginary
- ✓It's the feeling of holding a stone in your hand or feeling your heartbeat—something real and physical
- ✓Sounds like "core-PORE-ee-al" → Imagine the "core" (center) of your body, which is solid and real
- ✓Think of stories where ghosts are invisible (not corporeal), but people and animals are corporeal because they have bodies
- ✓NOT like "spiritual" or "ghostly" (no body), corporeal means having a real, physical form
- ✓NOT like "mental" or "imaginary," which only exist in the mind, corporeal things exist outside and can be touched
- ✓NOT like "abstract" (ideas or feelings), corporeal means concrete and physical
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Material: related to matter or things you can touch (Use when emphasizing substance or matter)
- •Bodily: related to the body (Use when talking about body parts or health)
- •Tangible: able to be touched or felt (Use when emphasizing something is real and can be physically sensed)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: "corp-" (body) + "-oreal" (related to) → relating to the body
- •Etymology: From Latin "corporeus," meaning "of the body"
- •Historical development: Used since Middle English to describe things related to the body or physical form
- •Modern usage: Common in philosophy, law, and literature to describe physical existence versus spiritual or mental
💭 Reflect & Connect
•How does the idea of something being corporeal affect how we understand the difference between body and mind?
•Can something be important or real without being corporeal? How do you decide what matters more?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.The statue is a ___ object you can touch and see, unlike a painting which is flat.
2.Ghosts are usually described as non-___ because they have no physical body.
3.Pain is a ___ feeling that comes from the body, not just the mind.
4.In the courtroom, evidence must be ___ to be accepted, meaning it must be physical.
5.The book discusses the difference between ___ and spiritual experiences.
6.When something is ___, it exists in the real world, not just as an idea.
7.A person’s ___ form is what you can see and touch, not their thoughts or feelings.