1
as in muscular
having muscles capable of exerting great physical force
the store manager always asked the brawniest person there to do the heavy lifting
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sinewy
marked by a well-developed musculature
brawny arms that weren't developed in the gym but by years of work in the construction business
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in athletic
strongly and heavily built
a tough little boy who's going to be a brawny man someday
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of brawny
In this 1980-set thriller, Brolin is all brawny and hunky (his shirt knows few buttons) as a desperate dad and former New York cop on a relentless pursuit of a madman (Cliff Forman) who has mistakenly kidnapped his daughter.
—
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
No one will argue against Gérald Genta’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak design finding a top spot on many collectors’ wishlists, and the brawnier Offshore regularly shares that space.
—Thor Svaboe, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2025
Today, the open source OS kernel known as Linux absolutely dominates the brawny server market—particularly for cloud computing and especially for supercomputers and AI infrastructure.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 25 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
See All Example Sentences for brawny
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 12 Sep. 2025
No one will argue against Gérald Genta’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak design finding a top spot on many collectors’ wishlists, and the brawnier Offshore regularly shares that space.
—Thor Svaboe, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2025
Today, the open source OS kernel known as Linux absolutely dominates the brawny server market—particularly for cloud computing and especially for supercomputers and AI infrastructure.
—Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 25 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
See All Example Sentences for brawny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brawny
Adjective
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Each version of the muscular coupe features a special livery inspired by its predecessor.—
Bryan Hood,
Robb Report,
13 Oct. 2025
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Here’s our selection of dramas, encompassing everything from Sony Pictures Television’s high-concept series The Miniature Wife to Sphere Abacus’ steamy ice-hockey romp Heated Rivalry through to Richard Gadd muscular transformation in Half Man.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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State athletic associations have discretion under their states’ laws to determine high school athlete eligibility.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
18 Oct. 2025
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Franklin played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the program’s culture and restoring its national relevance over his 12 seasons, but just before last Sunday’s practice, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft informed him that the school was moving in a different direction.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Politically, the affluence manifested in Long Island establishing itself as a bastion of the Republican Party, showing strong support for Hoover in his doomed Presidential campaign against Roosevelt.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Oct. 2025
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Since Xi Jinping assumed power in 2012, Chinese stories have increasingly included nods to Chinese nationalist (not just communist) soldiers fighting bravely, thus placing a strong, victorious, and morally righteous China at the forefront of the postwar global order.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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One of two vice-chairmen of the commission, the general is the third-most powerful commander of the People’s Liberation Army and has been considered a close associate of President Xi Jinping, the army’s commander-in-chief.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
18 Oct. 2025
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The powerful currents of flash floods can carry drivers off the road.—
KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT,
Kansas City Star,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Their rugged endurance is what endears Jeeps to car-lovers with a sense of history and who appreciate the significance of a vehicle that defined an indefatigable generation.—
Robert Ross,
Robb Report,
17 Oct. 2025
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At Grandview Point, once the site of a 19th-century copper mine, visitors can enjoy sweeping panoramas and access the rugged Grandview Trail, originally built to haul ore out of the canyon.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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There are up to 20,000 rabid people raining down their emotions from all angles, a dozen sticks clattering, two dozen skates carving, all those burly bodies bumping into each other and banging into the boards, plus an endless stream of screaming and grunting and cursing.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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The streams from his time in San Francisco, Oakland, and the nation’s capital did indeed feature some of the more frenzied throngs of people screaming his name and reaching out to touch him, held back only by a cadre of burly bodyguards.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Dreamfest always gets huge-name acts — with past participants including Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 — and this year’s fandango not only featured mighty Metallica but rising pop star Benson Boone, who performed across the street from Chase on a stage erected at Bayfront Park.—
Jim Harrington,
Mercury News,
16 Oct. 2025
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Meanwhile, big tech companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM and OpenAI have all joined the small-but-mighty club, with models that are a fraction of the size of their bigger counterparts.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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McAvoy and Lindholm played just 50 and 17 games, respectively; Brandon Carlo got dealt to division rival Toronto; Zadorov never quite lived up to his beefy new deal; and youngster Lohrei struggled with too heavy of a load too soon as the carnage unfolded around him.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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For an even beefier gaming machine, this one from CyberPowerPC ships with a processor that's one of the fastest gaming chips on the market, easily blowing through benchmarking in our review.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brawny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brawny. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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