brawny
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- brawnily adverb
- brawniness noun
- unbrawny adjective
Etymology
Origin of brawny
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; brawn, -y 1
Explanation
Someone brawny is bulky and muscular. Most football players are brawny. Brawn refers to muscles and physical strength: people often contrast brains and brawn. Therefore, if someone is brawny, they have large muscles and are quite strong. Many athletes are brawny, especially ones such as weightlifters and football players. Tennis players and jockeys are usually smaller and not so brawny. A brawny person is big, strong, rugged, and tough. If you'd like to be brawnier, go to the gym.
Vocabulary lists containing brawny
Twelve Days in May
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The City of Ember
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Vigorous Vocab: Synonyms for "Strong"
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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.
Compared to the world-class athletes and physical specimens who catch footballs for a living, the Seattle wideout isn’t especially brawny, tall, or speedy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
Key details: Consumer spending, the chief engine of the economy, grew at a brawny 3.5% rate in third quarter.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 23, 2025
Fortune does not favor the brawny, or people armed to the teeth, or one sex over another.
From Salon • Nov. 12, 2025
Delightfully, when Moss-Bachrach’s brawny rock monster strolls to the deli to buy black-and-white cookies, he’s wearing a gargantuan pair of penny loafers.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025
They all were noticeably graceful — even the big, brawny one.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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.
