MUSCLES Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

muscles

verb

present tense third-person singular of muscle

as in forces

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure he was muscled out of command by his opponents at military headquarters

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pushes

to force one's way muscling straight through the packed crowd of people waiting to board the ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 muscles Panthers receiver Cataurus Hicks comes down with it and muscles his way forward in an attempt to get into the end zone. — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026 One year later, the XFL muscles its way onto the national sports scene with its first two games. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026 Gringo Films does not sound like the kind of company that muscles its way into the global animation business. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for muscles

Verb

This question forces founders out of product-speak and into real-world consequences.

— Olivia Ludington, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
An unexpected turn of events forces him to choose between those ambitions and temptation that could change his future.

— Essie Assibu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of forces

Verb

The textile industry has been increasingly investing in Vietnam amid diversification pushes out from China.

— Sarah Jones, Footwear News, 28 Oct. 2026
With that in mind, Ultron pushes Thomas to face painful truths about his insecurities over his deadbeat dad and his hunger for Vision’s fatherly love.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of pushes

Verb

Not the kind of empathy that simply allows someone to understand another person’s struggles, but the kind that compels them to do something about it.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline.

— Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of compels

Verb

Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein looked at who shoulders the cost of the tariffs, examining which part of the tariff reaches consumers through higher prices versus which share of the price hike is due to other factors.

— Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026
Elordi nearly shoulders the running time but plays his Hig a bit too humbly.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of shoulders

Verb

However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.

— Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.

— Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025

Definition of coerces

Verb

Where the Cayenne’s steering is calibrated so that the road nudges the driver, Bentley’s elbows back at those perturbances.

— Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026
Montana props himself up on a utility stool for our interview, elbows on a wood table, while holding his phone in his hand.

— Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 30 July 2026

Definition of elbows

Verb

When the user presses their finger on the part of the patch that contains the wet fabric, the pressure squeezes the water out of the material, down one of the microfluidic channels, and into the foaming agent chamber.

— Ben Coxworth October 23, New Atlas, 23 Oct. 2026
In the aerodynamic phenomenon known as ground effect, proximity to that surface squeezes air beneath a craft’s wings to reduce drag and boost lift, with far less propulsive power required than for high-altitude flight.

— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of squeezes

Browse Nearby Words

muscled

muscles

muscling

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Muscles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muscles. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of muscles

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

satiate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 SCRABBLE Dictionary

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes