muscular
Americanadjective
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of or relating to muscle or the muscles.
muscular strain.
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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
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.
My family were signposted to a charity called the Jennifer Trust, now known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK, which helped support me.
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026
The couple’s loose but vital acoustic performances from the Attica and John Sinclair benefits, both previously unissued, are included here, as are “David Frost Show” and “Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon” appearances.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025
Robert Ross, 86, the president and chief executive of the Muscular Dystrophy Assn. who recruited Jerry Lewis for the organization’s annual Labor Day telethon, died Monday of pneumonia at a Tucson hospital.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024
Muscular dystrophies are a group of congenital genetic diseases that affect muscle tissue and often lead to severe disability and greatly reduced life expectancy.
From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2024
My father is a hard man, Muscular and stout.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
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.
