sinew

American  

[sin-yoo] / ˈsɪn yu /

noun

1. a tendon.

2. Often sinews. the source of strength, power, or vigor.

   the sinews of the nation.

3. strength; power; resilience.

   a man of great moral sinew.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with sinews; strengthen, as by sinews.

sinew British  

/ ˈsɪnjuː /

noun

1. anatomy another name for tendon

2. (often plural)

   1. a source of strength or power

   2. a literary word for muscle

---

Other Word Forms

• sinewless adjective
• unsinewed adjective
• unsinewing adjective

Etymology

Origin of sinew

before 900; Middle English; Old English sinu (nominative), sinuwe (genitive); cognate with Dutch zenuw, German Sehne, Old Norse sin; akin to Sanskrit snāva sinew

Explanation

The tendon that connects muscles to bone is also called sinew. The noun is also used to suggest strength and resilience, and is sometimes used as a literary term for muscle, literal or metaphorical, as in “a nation’s sinew.” Sinew derives from before 900 CE, with relatives found in the Dutch zenuw and the Old High German senawa. Our present spelling worked its way through the Old English seonowe to become the Middle English sinewe. Aside from its anatomical meaning, this word is often used to present an image of strength and power, evident in filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s statement, “I write scripts to serve as skeletons awaiting the flesh and sinew of images.”

Example Sentences

Players who don't have the manager's back might not strain every last sinew when they know his job is hanging by a thread.

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2025

But so much of the sort of sinew or the connective tissue between scenes and sequences comes from a process of yes and, yes and, yes and, which is the first rule of improv.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 13, 2025

The nearly photorealistic face of Senua, the unconventional hero of this 10th-century revenge tale, as she grimaces with every sinew taut, her veins bulging.

From New York Times • May 20, 2024

They would have been the sinew that knit together far-flung, shoreland communities of the Puget Lowland.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2023

She was binding the edges with strips of basswood bark and sinew.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

Related Words

• tendon