1
as in muscular
having muscles capable of exerting great physical force
the lithe, sinewy body of the ballet company's leading male dancer
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in brawny
marked by a well-developed musculature
the sinewy arms of the weight lifter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 sinewy
Del Toro, perpetually attuned to the minutiae of process, turns the sinewy logistics of reanimation into a series of referendums on Victor’s humanity.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
The photo of Chastain whipping off her jersey, shouting in triumph, her sinewy arms flexed, was immediately historic.
—Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2025
Stardust Racers, the sinewy roller coaster that towers over Epic Universe, shoots bodies through the sky at more than 60 miles an hour and plunges them toward the surface of the Earth from the height of a 10-story building.
—Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2025
Once neighbors had amassed a pile of larger items, one of the camp's earliest residents, a sinewy man in his 50s named Tom Rock, walked over and began helping to lift them into the dumpster.
—Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sinewy
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 28 Oct. 2025
The photo of Chastain whipping off her jersey, shouting in triumph, her sinewy arms flexed, was immediately historic.
—Kansas City Star, 27 Oct. 2025
Stardust Racers, the sinewy roller coaster that towers over Epic Universe, shoots bodies through the sky at more than 60 miles an hour and plunges them toward the surface of the Earth from the height of a 10-story building.
—Bianca Bosker, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2025
Once neighbors had amassed a pile of larger items, one of the camp's earliest residents, a sinewy man in his 50s named Tom Rock, walked over and began helping to lift them into the dumpster.
—Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 26 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sinewy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sinewy
Adjective
-
He’s described as having black hair with a muscular and athletic build with brown eyes.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The clip came after Nelson recently announced that her twin daughters have been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) Type 1.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Also at tight end, Jackson Verdugo, who had a strong freshman season, is due back, and FIU signed incoming freshmen Davis Brown and Ayden Passley.—
Walter Villa,
Miami Herald,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Nicole says Hannah did get better and stronger — strong enough that Hannah's neurologist told her the whole story.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Among the groups singled out was the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN), Colombia’s largest and most powerful guerrilla organization, which controls vast stretches of the 1,400-mile border between Colombia and Venezuela.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
The three-month outage and an extended recovery period in 2022 also forced MAVEN to miss observations of several powerful solar flares and temporarily limited its role as a communications relay, reducing science output both from MAVEN and from Mars missions overall.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sinewy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sinewy. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
