adjective
Other Word Forms
- burlily adverb
- burliness noun
- unburly adjective
Etymology
Origin of burly
1250–1300; Middle English borli, burli, Old English borlīce (adv.) excellently, equivalent to bor ( a ) ruler + -līce -ly
Explanation
The adjective burly describes someone (usually male) who is muscular and beefy. Types of people that you might describe as burly? Football players, wrestlers, and bouncers at nightclubs. The word burly is a synonym for words like husky, brawny, and muscular. The differences between the words can be subtle. Although they can all describe someone with beefy muscles, people tend not to think of burly as describing someone who has a lean, athletic muscular build. Burly is more often used to describe the guy that has a massive, muscular build, where his muscle may be tending toward fat.
Vocabulary lists containing burly
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Twilight
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The Tale of Despereaux
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"When I went to go into the building these three big burly security guys came forward. They said 'Yes - can we help you?' and I had to sign in on a screen."
From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026
Senator Markwayne Mullin, nominated to head the Department of Homeland Security, is a burly former wrestler, a mixed martial arts fighter and a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
He is tatted, burly, and often dressed in black, with just enough gray in his beard to scan as learned.
From Slate • Feb. 15, 2026
If he had little use for Rudolph’s burly Brutalism, he took his inspiration from “The Shingle Style,” Scully’s pioneering study of those late 19th-century American houses.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025
“That’s a fine thing,” General Dreedle growled at the bar, gripping his empty shot glass in his burly hand.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
