muscular
Americanadjective
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of or relating to muscle or the muscles.
muscular strain.
-
dependent on or affected by the muscles.
muscular strength.
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having well-developed muscles; brawny.
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vigorously and forcefully expressed, executed, performed, etc., as if by the use of a great deal of muscular power.
a muscular response to terrorism.
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broad and energetic, especially with the implication that subtlety and grace are lacking.
a muscular style.
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reflected in physical activity and work.
a muscular religion.
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Informal. having or showing power; powerful.
a muscular vehicle.
adjective
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having well-developed muscles; brawny
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of, relating to, or consisting of muscle
Other Word Forms
- intermuscular adjective
- intermuscularity noun
- intermuscularly adverb
- muscularity noun
- muscularly adverb
- nonmuscular adjective
- nonmuscularly adverb
- postmuscular adjective
- submuscular adjective
- submuscularly adverb
- unmuscular adjective
- unmuscularly adverb
Etymology
Origin of muscular
Explanation
If you're strong and athletic, with powerfully developed muscles, you can describe yourself as muscular. Weight lifters are muscular, and so is the Incredible Hulk. If your grandmother has worked as a cattle farmer her entire life, she is probably pretty muscular too. Anyone with strong muscles can be described as muscular. In the 1600's, the word simply meant "pertaining to muscles," but by the mid-1700's, muscular specifically referred to well-developed muscles. The root word is the Latin musculus, which, oddly enough, means both "muscle" and "little mouse."
Vocabulary lists containing muscular
Vigorous Vocab: Synonyms for "Strong"
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STAAR Biology: Biological Processes and Systems
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Organisms and Environments 5: Human Systems
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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.
Not only the horrific leg break of 2010, but the persistent muscular issues which hindered him afterwards.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
The “Lynch Fragments” were small, compact and muscular sculptures.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Sarcopenia is a form of muscular dystrophy associated with aging and is a popular condition for biotech companies that harbor greater goals of reversing or slowing aging to target.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Meanwhile, Orpin’s muscular flexing in Soames’ fitted T-shirts rivals anything Jeremy Allen White serves in “The Bear.”
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
They were so muscular, so stern in their dark blue uniforms.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
