muscle-bound

adjective

Definition of muscle-boundnext
as in muscular

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of muscle-bound But their skeletons seemed peculiar—stocky and muscle-bound, with mashups of features seen in various groups of modern-day mammals. — Steve Brusatte, Scientific American, 1 June 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muscle-bound
  1. muscular
  2. athletic
  3. powerful
  4. sinewy
  5. burly
  6. mighty
  7. strapping
  8. beefy
Adjective
  • The pressures to look a certain way — hypermasculine, muscular and stylish, for example, among certain subsets of gay men, can be just as harsh and punishing.
    — Stephanie Fairyington, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
  • Every drop hits like a quake, and each muscular beat compels you to shake your ass.
    — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026
Definition of muscular
Adjective
  • They are intended to provide underserved and minority youth with academic, social and athletic opportunities through baseball and softball.
    — Christian Marshall, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
  • Completed last month, the building can be viewed either as a bold statement of athletic ambition or a monument to misplaced priorities.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of athletic
Adjective
  • While Maduro and Flores have awaited trial in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn, their home country has been grappling with a humanitarian disaster following a pair of powerful back-to-back earthquakes in June, killing at least 5,278 people.
    — Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 22 July 2026
  • Self-Monitoring May Improve Weight Management Weighing daily can be a powerful tool for building awareness of trends and for adjusting habits to improve overall health.
    — Ashley Olivine, Verywell Health, 22 July 2026
Definition of powerful
Adjective
  • The White man, his sinewy, tattooed arms already beet-red from the sun, shouldered the cross from the center beam.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
  • The swimmers looked like swimmers—sinewy and long, with huge hands and feet.
    — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
Definition of sinewy
Adjective
  • Morocco’s burly defender Issa Diop was nearly on top of him, but Mbappé didn’t give him time to challenge.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 July 2026
  • Waving and smiling, Aveiro, accompanied by a burly gentleman, takes a seat at a table bedecked with a bouquet of roses, ready to tuck into some cuisine from her native country.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
Definition of burly
Adjective
  • These adapters are small but mighty, and have saved me from losing power on multiple occasions.
    — Jamie Davis Smith, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026
  • But the three-game series beginning Friday night should nonetheless help show how the championship-hopeful Yankees measure up to a mighty Dodgers team that’s won the last two World Series and boasts MLB’s best record this year, too.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 17 July 2026
Definition of mighty
Adjective
  • Ser Duncan the Tall, is a strapping but awkward young man with little confidence and few skills.
    — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Henney is best known for playing the strapping and heroic Special Agent Matt Simmons on Criminal Minds.
    — Hoda Mallone, People.com, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of strapping
Adjective
  • On top of the appropriately hirsute performer assuming the role of beefy antihero Kratos, the adaptation promises a god-tier ensemble cast, with the likes of Lost’s Sonya Walger and Homeland’s Mandy Patinkin joining the fray.
    — Matt Cabral, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026
  • Sony will still make a beefy box for the living room to compete with Xbox and PCs, but the price may be so outlandish amid RAMageddon that traditional console buyers won’t be able to justify the spend.
    — Sean Hollister, The Verge, 15 July 2026
Definition of beefy

Browse Nearby Words

muscle
muscle-bound
muscle car
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Cite this Entry

“Muscle-bound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muscle-bound. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

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