1
as in power
muscular strength
I'm going to need someone with real muscle to help me move all this furniture
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in strength
the ability to exert effort for the accomplishment of a task
at the time the military lacked the muscle to fight two wars at once
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to force
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muscle
John J. Houlihan Jr, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
The scapula is the shoulder blade, and the area around it is muscle.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025
Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Norris was open about his weekend struggles after slumping to sixth in qualifying, only to quickly make up ground off the line by muscling his way up to P3 on the opening lap.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muscle
Noun
The dog tore through the flesh, muscle, and tendons, down to the bones in Mrs. D’Aleo’s left leg.
—John J. Houlihan Jr, Hartford Courant, 25 May 2025
The scapula is the shoulder blade, and the area around it is muscle.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025
Verb
Queen is a brawny, physical big who muscled through opponents to average 19.5 points and 10.8 rebounds this season.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2025
Norris was open about his weekend struggles after slumping to sixth in qualifying, only to quickly make up ground off the line by muscling his way up to P3 on the opening lap.
—Luke Smith, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muscle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muscle
Noun
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But that, in itself, speaks to the power of acknowledging reality onscreen — even in science-fiction.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
30 May 2025
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If the Heat doesn’t extend that qualifying offer, Mitchell would become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and Miami would lose the power to always have an opportunity match outside offers.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Get together with your planning team and review each person’s strengths and weaknesses.—
Denis Sinelnikov,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
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This will, in turn, redefine your sense of independence and strength, urging you to balance that fire and passion with responsibility and integrity.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
23 May 2025
Verb
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That gives you a puncher’s chance against a team that runs on makes and misses and forces defensive miscues by sheer virtue of its pace of play.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
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Set in the winter of 1591, the play unfolds across three clandestine meetings where the rival playwrights are forced into creative collaboration amid a climate of conspiracy and paranoia.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
30 May 2025
Verb
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As Nuno pointed out, the player of the season award could reasonably have been renamed the ‘team of the season award’ during a campaign in which Forest followed up back-to-back fights against relegation by pushing for Champions League qualification.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
28 May 2025
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Some of the administration's pressure tactics: threatening to take away Harvard's non-profit status, freezing $3 billion in federal grant dollars, barring the university from enrolling foreign students, and pushing Congress to increase taxes on university endowments.—
Davis Winkie,
USA Today,
27 May 2025
Noun
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Ice paddles were stored in direct contact with raw chicken, beef and pork in the standup freezer.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2025
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The recall notice didn’t specify the size of the wood fragments that were found in the beef stew.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
Noun
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The crypto and blockchain sectors require tech-savvy developers, compliance officers, clean energy producers, lawyers, financial analysts, and marketing professionals.—
Jeremy Cooney,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
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The Sacramento Bee reached out to energy experts to find out the answer: Does setting my thermostat to 78 degrees actually save me money?—
Angela Rodriguez,
Sacbee.com,
30 May 2025
Verb
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The alleged kidnappers shocked the victim with electric wires, held him upside down from the top of a staircase, cut his leg with a saw and threatened to kill his family in a bid to coerce their Italian hostage to unlock his Bitcoin account, prosecutors said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
30 May 2025
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Swat is coerced into taking on the role or finally getting legal comeuppances for all of his misdeeds and ends up taking on solving the mystery of a series of disappearances plaguing Echo city.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
29 May 2025
Verb
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Umberto Rispoli squeezed between horses around the top of the stretch and then rode Journalism to a tremendous rally.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
24 May 2025
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Martinez’s son squeezed the trigger five times, shooting Rivera to death and wounding two others, the detective wrote in the affidavit.—
Matthew Ormseth,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2025
Video
When Body Parts Are Also Verbs
Head, shoulders, metaphors, and toes
Cite this Entry
“Muscle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muscle. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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