muscular

[muhs-kyuh-ler] /ˈmʌs kyə lər/

adjective

of or pertaining to muscle or the muscles:

muscular strain.

dependent on or affected by the muscles:

muscular strength.

having well-developed muscles; brawny.

vigorously and forcefully expressed, executed, performed, etc., as if by the use of a great deal of muscular power:

a muscular response to terrorism.

broad and energetic, especially with the implication that subtlety and grace are lacking:

a muscular style.

reflected in physical activity and work:

a muscular religion.

Informal. having or showing power; powerful:

a muscular vehicle.

Origin

1675-85; < Latin mūscul(us) muscle + -ar¹

Related forms

muscularity, noun

muscularly, adverb

intermuscular, adjective

intermuscularly, adverb

intermuscularity, noun

nonmuscular, adjective

nonmuscularly, adverb

postmuscular, adjective

submuscular, adjective

submuscularly, adverb

unmuscular, adjective

unmuscularly, adverb

Synonyms

3. sinewy; strong, powerful; stalwart, sturdy.

Examples from the web for muscular

He was ideally built for climbing: small, compact and muscular.
Now they have engineered another batch of overly muscular rodents.
He found the muscular football players appalling and despaired of finding a barber who could give a proper haircut.
He was also uncomfortable with the muscular nationalism other musicians were embracing.
Chromatophores are connected to the nervous system, and their size is determined by muscular contractions.
Elephant trunks and tongues are other examples of a muscular hydrostat.
The physiological origin of this rumbling involves muscular activity in the stomach and small intestines.
Behind this muscular display, however, is a more nuanced reality.
But it's all there-the tiny arms, the huge head, the large teeth and muscular jaw.
What is missing is more muscular outside intervention.

British Dictionary definitions for muscular

muscular

/ˈmʌskjʊlə/

adjective

having well-developed muscles; brawny

of, relating to, or consisting of muscle

Derived Forms

muscularity (ˌmʌskjʊˈlærɪtɪ) noun
muscularly, adverb

Word Origin

C17: from New Latin muscularis, from musculusmuscle

Word Origin and History for muscular

adj.

1680s, "pertaining to muscles," from Latin musculus (see muscle (n.)) + -ar. Earlier in same sense was musculous (early 15c.). Meaning "having well-developed muscles" is from 1736. Muscular Christianity (1857) is originally in reference to philosophy of Anglican clergyman and novelist Charles Kingsley (1819-1875). Muscular dystrophy attested from 1886.

muscular in Medicine

muscular mus·cu·lar (mŭs'kyə-lər)
adj.

Of, relating to, or consisting of muscle.
Having or characterized by well-developed muscles.

muscular in Science

muscle

(mŭs'əl)
A body tissue composed of sheets or bundles of cells that contract to produce movement or increase tension. Muscle cells contain filaments made of the proteins actin and myosin, which lie parallel to each other. When a muscle is signaled to contract, the actin and myosin filaments slide past each other in an overlapping pattern. ◇ Skeletal muscle effects voluntary movement and is made up of bundles of elongated cells (muscle fibers), each of which contains many nuclei. ◇ Smooth muscle provides the contractile force for the internal organs and is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. Smooth muscle cells are spindle-shaped and each contains a single nucleus. ◇ Cardiac muscle makes up the muscle of the heart and consists of a meshwork of striated cells.

muscular adjective