1
as in forces
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
he was muscled out of command by his opponents at military headquarters
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Recent Examples of muscles
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
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
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Since different error correction schemes require different connections among the qubits, this forces us to commit to specific error-correction schemes during manufacturing.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 May 2026
-
Lomax, sensing his happiness, forces its end, depriving Stoner of this brief joy.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Verb
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With Balanchine—whose brush with Bradley came after his precocious beginnings with the Ballets Russes but before his immigration to America and eventual founding of New York City Ballet—Footer pushes hard on not much more than the fact that the two choreographers shared dancers and proclivities.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
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Besides, May pushes you to venture out of your comfort zone professionally, whether through travel, publishing or education.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
11 May 2026
Verb
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The mystery of what living in a perpetual state of kayfabe must feel like is much of what compels me to keep up with the family’s content.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
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Yet the Gospel compels us to do just that.—
William E. Lori,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Cunningham shoulders the weight of a city thirsty for meaningful basketball.—
Hunter Patterson,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
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Charismatic and charming as ever, Gosling easily shoulders the job of being the only human onscreen for an epoch.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Figures move across these planes in extravagant silhouette, heads tilted just so, fingers stiffly splayed and elbows akimbo.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
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Before the Bride elbows her way into his life, Frank, ever so lonely, retreats into the world of movies.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
For the United States, the blockade squeezes Iran’s already weakened economy by denying it long-term cash flow.—
Michelle L. Price,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
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The waves, which were first used in Boston in 2011, help spread things out so that runners don’t have to walk after the start, when Main Street in Hopkinton squeezes to just 39 feet wide.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muscles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muscles. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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