1
as in muscular
having muscles capable of exerting great physical force
the store manager always asked the brawniest person there to do the heavy lifting
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sinewy
marked by a well-developed musculature
brawny arms that weren't developed in the gym but by years of work in the construction business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in athletic
strongly and heavily built
a tough little boy who's going to be a brawny man someday
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 brawny
At Flanders, the peloton’s big and brawny racers like Flemish hero Wout van Aert or Dutch racer Mathieu van der Poel get to shine.
—
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2025
With teammate Mikal Bridges tagging smaller facilitators, Anunoby takes the brawnier ones.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
The 331-mile trail in Kiso Valley provides respite with its brawny cedar and cypress trees but also serves a functional purpose.
—Haley Harrison, AFAR Media, 10 Apr. 2025
Whether that brawny youth can bring that sort of unbridled thinking under real-race weights, in real tack, against real, experienced racehorses that have won multiple stakes remains to be seen.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brawny
Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 2 Apr. 2025
With teammate Mikal Bridges tagging smaller facilitators, Anunoby takes the brawnier ones.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025
The 331-mile trail in Kiso Valley provides respite with its brawny cedar and cypress trees but also serves a functional purpose.
—Haley Harrison, AFAR Media, 10 Apr. 2025
Whether that brawny youth can bring that sort of unbridled thinking under real-race weights, in real tack, against real, experienced racehorses that have won multiple stakes remains to be seen.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for brawny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brawny
Adjective
-
Overall, mobility suffers and injury risk increases as your body reacts to increasing core instability by creating protective tension and muscular compensations — often straining the lower back.—
Dana Santas,
CNN Money,
4 July 2025
-
Urine travels from the kidneys through muscular tubes called ureters to the bladder.—
Stephanie Brown,
Verywell Health,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
Grant, a nose tackle Miami selected in the first round, Phillips, a three-year starter at Maryland the Dolphins selected in the fifth round, and Biggers, a seventh-round pick, are all young, big and athletic, and each possesses upside.—
Omar Kelly
July 11,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
-
But players, for the most part, deftly avoided the watery out-of-bounds, a testament to their athletic prowess.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
This results in a charge imbalance that builds up an electric field strong enough to trigger flashes of lightning.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
13 Jan. 2023
-
According to research from Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control, strong gun control laws are correlated with fewer gun deaths.—
Elliot Hughes,
Journal Sentinel,
13 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
One of the most powerful moments of the night was the Waiting to Exhale tribute, beautifully curated by Adam Blackstone.—
Essence,
Essence,
10 July 2025
-
Modern medicine now offers safe, effective tools to treat obesity—from life-saving bariatric surgery to powerful new medications.—
Francesco Rubino,
Time,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
Outdoor Enthusiasts: The RAV4’s available all wheel drive and rugged design, particularly in Adventure and TRD Off-Road trims, attract those who enjoy outdoor activities like camping, hiking, and both water and snow skiing.—
Tony Leopardo,
Mercury News,
13 July 2025
-
Android users get an app and handy features, too, making these more versatile and more rugged than other Apple buds.—
Adrienne So,
Wired News,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
The burly 22-year-old just needed something to go right.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
9 July 2025
-
Emanuel Hershberger—Manny to his friends—has an iron handshake, a bushy chin-strap beard, and the burly shoulders of a man who spends his downtime tending a 40-acre farm without mechanized equipment.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Insomniac’s portfolio includes the mighty EDC Las Vegas and a long list of of other global festivals and club shows, while Tomorrowland is behind its namesake festival in Belgium, the first weekend of which begins this Friday, July 18.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
14 July 2025
-
The lodge sits at the end of the North Rim’s only road and foregrounds visitors’ first views of Arizona’s geological wonder, a canyon shaped over millions of years by the Colorado River’s mighty flows.—
Christian Thorsberg,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 July 2025
Adjective
-
These hefty meatloaf sandwiches are juicy, very beefy, and crowned with a sweet ketchup glaze.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
10 June 2025
-
This is a beefy AI workstation with an Nvidia GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip, cramming server-grade Grace Blackwell hardware into a single motherboard.—
Brian Westover,
PC Magazine,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brawny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brawny. Accessed 21 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share