brawny

adjective

ˈbrȯ-nē 

brawnier; brawniest

1

: muscular

also : strong, powerful

2

: being swollen and hard

a brawny infected foot

brawnily

ˈbrȯ-nə-lē 

adverb

brawniness

ˈbrȯ-nē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• muscular
• strong
• powerful
• rugged
• mighty
• stout

Examples of brawny in a Sentence

the store manager always asked the brawniest person there to do the heavy lifting

brawny arms that weren't developed in the gym but by years of work in the construction business

Recent Examples on the Web

The stately and imposing Graham McTavish helped lead Outlander as brawny war chief Dougal MacKenzie on the first two seasons of Outlander, though the actor would return for a couple more appearances later in the series. —Randall Colburn, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2025

And brawny local dad Archer Graff (Josh Brolin), whose son is one of the missing children, is determined to find out what that something might be. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Aug. 2025

But this muscular ballad – with lyrics from Motorhead’s Lemmy – offers a gorgeous melody that doesn’t prevent the song from building into enough of a brawny rocker to appease his longtime fans. —Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 23 July 2025

India Standard Time) atop a GSLV Mk II, one of India's brawniest rockets. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 30 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for brawny

• bonnie
• bonny
• connie
• johnnie
• johnny
• mani
• rani
• scrawny
• tawny
• afghani
• fulani
• romani

Medical Definition

brawny

adjective

ˈbrȯ-nē 

brawnier; brawniest

: being swollen and hard

a brawny infected foot