muscular

Late 17th century; from muscle (Latin mūsculus) +‎ -ar. Compare French musculaire.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈmʌs.kjə.lɚ/
• Rhymes: -ʌskjʊlə(ɹ)

muscular (comparative more muscular, superlative most muscular)

1. (relational) Of, relating to, or connected with muscles.
   • 1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “The Escape of the Dead”, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1917 October, →OCLC, page 18:

     It was an effort of the mind, of the will, of the nerves; not muscular, for I could not move even so much as my little finger, but none the less mighty for all that.

2. Brawny, thewy, having strength.

   Synonyms: athletic, beefy, brawny, husky, lusty, muscled, muscly, powerful, sinewy, strapping, strong

   • 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, page 43:

     It was a strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, [...] The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength.

3. Having large, well-developed muscles.

   Synonyms: beefy, brawny, buff, husky, musclebound, muscled, muscly, powerfully built, swole, well-built

4. (figurative) Robust, strong.

   Synonym: vigorous

   • 2014 July 9, Samanth Subramanian, “India after English?”, in The New York Review of Books‎^[1], archived from the original on 10 September 2019:

     Future prime ministers may struggle to replicate the sort of muscular countrywide support that [Narendra] Modi was able to earn.

   • 2025 February 26, Aziz Huq, “Conservatives on the Supreme Court May Not Fully Align With Trump”, in Politico:

     The conservative movement faces real internal contradictions. On the one hand, there is deep skepticism of Washington-based power — think of the tea party and its “Don’t tread on me” bumper stickers. On the other, there is an eager embrace of a muscular view of the presidency for Trump, and before him, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

   • 2025 May 13, Patrik Jonsson, “Beat cops to game wardens, Florida expands ‘army’ of immigration enforcers”, in The Christian Science Monitor:

     Playing out now, with Florida leading, is one of the most muscular policing movements in modern times.

5. Full-bodied

   muscular wine

• musculature
• musculo-

• myo-

• “muscular”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “muscular”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Borrowed from Medieval Latin or New Latin mūsculāris.

• IPA^(key): (Central) [mus.kuˈlar]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [mus.kuˈla]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [mus.kuˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ

muscular m or f (masculine and feminine plural musculars)

1. (relational) muscle; muscular

• múscul

• “muscular”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “muscular”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “muscular” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “muscular” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

muscular m or f (plural musculares)

1. muscular (of, relating to, or connected with muscles)

• músculo

• “muscular”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

muscular (not comparable)

1. muscular

• musculo

Borrowed from Medieval Latin and New Latin mūsculāris.

• Hyphenation: mus‧cu‧lar

muscular m or f (plural musculares)

1. muscular (of or relating to muscles)

• músculo

Borrowed from French musculaire.

muscular m or n (feminine singular musculară, masculine plural musculari, feminine and neuter plural musculare)

1. muscular

Borrowed from Medieval Latin or New Latin mūsculāris.

• IPA^(key): /muskuˈlaɾ/ [mus.kuˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: mus‧cu‧lar

muscular m or f (masculine and feminine plural musculares)

1. muscular (of, relating to, or connected with muscles)

muscular (first-person singular present musculo, first-person singular preterite musculé, past participle musculado)

1. (intransitive) to build muscle mass by exercising

• “muscular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024