muscular

English

Etymology

Late 17th century from musculous +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

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

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

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

Adjective

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, 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.

5. Full-bodied

   muscular wine

Derived terms

• Becker muscular dystrophy
• bimuscular
• cardiomuscular
• corticomuscular
• cutaneomuscular
• dermomuscular
• elastomuscular
• electromuscular
• epimuscular
• epitheliomuscular
• extramuscular
• faciomuscular
• faradomuscular
• fibromuscular
• hepatocardiomuscular
• hypermuscular
• idiomuscular
• intermuscular
• intramuscular
• ligamentomuscular
• most muscular
• muscular Christian
• muscular Christianity
• muscular dystrophy
• muscular endurance
• muscularity
• muscularize
• muscularly
• muscularness
• muscular pile
• muscular stomach
• nervomuscular
• neuromuscular
• nonmuscular
• osseomuscular, osteomuscular
• overmuscular
• paramuscular
• perimuscular
• premuscular
• promuscular
• psychoneuromuscular
• retromuscular
• seromuscular
• skeletomuscular
• spinal muscular atrophies
• spinal muscular atrophy
• submuscular
• supramuscular
• tendinomuscular, tendomuscular
• transmuscular
• undermuscular
• unimuscular
• unmuscular

Related terms

• musculature
• musculo-

Translations

of or relating to muscles

• Albanian: muskulor (sq)
• Arabic: عَضَلِيّ (ʕaḍaliyy)
• Belarusian: мы́шачны (mýšačny), му́скульны (múskulʹny), цяглі́чны (cjahlíčny)
• Bulgarian: му́скулен (múskulen)
• Catalan: muscular (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 肌肉的 (zh) (jīròu de)

• Czech: svalový (cs), muskulární (cs)
• Danish: muskulær
• Dutch: musculair (nl), spier- (nl)
• Estonian: lihase- (et), lihaseline
• Finnish: lihas- (fi)
• French: musculaire (fr)
• Friulian: muscolâr
• Galician: muscular (gl)
• German: muskulär (de), Muskel- (de)
• Greek: μυϊκός (el) m (myïkós)
• Hungarian: izmos (hu)
• Icelandic: vöðva- (is)
• Irish: matánach, muscalach
• Italian: muscolare (it)
• Macedonian: мускулен (muskulen)
• Maori: pūioio
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: muskulær

  Nynorsk: muskulær

• Occitan: muscular (oc)
• Polish: mięśniowy (pl)
• Portuguese: muscular (pt)
• Romanian: muscular (ro), mușchiular (ro)
• Russian: мы́шечный (ru) (mýšečnyj), му́скульный (ru) (múskulʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мѝшӣћнӣ

  Roman: mìšīćnī

• Slovak: svalový (sk), muskulárny (sk)
• Slovene: mišičen
• Spanish: muscular (es)
• Swedish: muskel- (sv), muskulär (sv)
• Ukrainian: м'язови́й (mʺjazovýj), м'я́зовий (mʺjázovyj), му́скульний (múskulʹnyj)
• Welsh: cyhyrog (cy)

having strength

• Albanian: muskuloz
• Bulgarian: си́лен (bg) (sílen)
• Catalan: musculós
• Czech: svalnatý (cs)
• Danish: muskuløs
• Dutch: gespierd (nl)
• Finnish: lihaksikas (fi)
• French: musclé (fr), musculeux (fr)
• Galician: musculoso
• German: muskulös (de)
• Hungarian: izmos (hu)
• Icelandic: vöðvastæltur (is), vöðvamikill, (informal) massaður
• Irish: matánach, urrúnta
• Italian: muscoloso (it)
• Japanese: ムキムキ (mukimuki)
• Macedonian: мускулест (muskulest)
• Maori: pūioio, mārōrō
• Occitan: musclat
• Polish: umięśniony (pl), muskularny (pl)
• Portuguese: musculoso (pt)
• Romanian: mușchiulos (ro), musculos (ro)
• Russian: мускули́стый (ru) (muskulístyj), си́льный (ru) (sílʹnyj)
• Sanskrit: मांसल (sa) (māṃsala)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мѝшићав, му̏скуло̄зан

  Roman: mìšićav, mȕskulōzan (sh)

• Slovak: svalnatý (sk)
• Spanish: musculoso (es)
• Swedish: muskulös (sv), biffig (sv) (colloquial)
• Welsh: cyhyrog (cy)

having large, well-developed muscles

• Belarusian: мускулі́сты (muskulísty)
• Bengali: পেশিবহুল (bn) (peśibohul), পেশীবহুল (bn) (peśibohul)
• Bulgarian: мускули́ст (muskulíst)
• Catalan: musculós
• Czech: svalnatý (cs)
• Danish: muskuløs
• Dutch: gespierd (nl)
• Estonian: lihaseline
• Finnish: lihaksikas (fi)
• French: musculeux (fr)
• Greek: μυώδης (el) (myódis)
• Hungarian: izmos (hu)
• Irish: matánach
• Italian: muscoloso (it)
• Japanese: ムキムキ (mukimuki)
• Latin: torōsus
• Macedonian: мускулест (muskulest)
• Malay: berotot
• Maori: pakari, tuakaka, kōpaka
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: muskuløs (no)

  Nynorsk: muskuløs

• Portuguese: musculoso (pt)
• Russian: мускули́стый (ru) (muskulístyj)
• Sanskrit: मांसल (sa) (māṃsala), संहननवात् (saṃhananavāt)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: му̏скуло̄зан

  Roman: mȕskulōzan (sh)

• Slovak: svalnatý (sk)
• Slovene: mišičast
• Swedish: muskulös (sv)
• Turkish: kaslı (tr)
• Ukrainian: м'язи́стий (mʺjazýstyj), мускуля́стий (muskuljástyj), мускули́стий (muskulýstyj)
• Welsh: cyhyrog (cy)

(figuratively) strong, robust

• Irish: matánach
• Maori: pakari
• Welsh: cyhyrog (cy)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} კუნთიანი (ḳuntiani)

See also

• myo-

References

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

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin or New Latin mūsculāris.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

muscular m or f (masculine and feminine plural musculars)

1. (relational) muscle; muscular

Related terms

• múscul

Further reading

• “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], 2007 April
• “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.

Galician

Adjective

muscular m or f (plural musculares)

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

Related terms

• músculo

Further reading

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

Interlingua

Adjective

muscular (not comparable)

1. muscular

Related terms

• musculo

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin and New Latin mūsculāris.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mus.kuˈlaʁ/ [mus.kuˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mus.kuˈlaʁ/ [mus.kuˈlah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /mus.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /muʃ.kuˈlaʁ/ [muʃ.kuˈlaχ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /mus.kuˈlaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /muʃ.kuˈlaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /muʃ.kuˈlaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /muʃ.kuˈla.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: mus‧cu‧lar

Adjective

muscular m or f (plural musculares)

1. muscular (of or relating to muscles)

Related terms

• músculo

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French musculaire.

Adjective

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

1. muscular

Declension

Declension of muscular

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	muscular		musculară		musculari	musculare
	definite	muscularul		musculara		muscularii	muscularele
genitive- dative	indefinite	muscular		musculare		musculari	musculare
	definite	muscularului		muscularei		muscularilor	muscularelor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin or New Latin mūsculāris.

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

muscular m or f (masculine and feminine plural musculares)

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

Derived terms

• distrofia muscular
• fibra muscular
• fortalecimiento muscular
• intermuscular
• perimuscular
• tejido muscular
• tono muscular

Related terms

• músculo

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) to build muscle mass by exercising

Conjugation

    Conjugation of muscular (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			muscular
gerund			musculando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		musculado		musculada
		plural		musculados		musculadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	musculo	musculastú musculásvos	muscula	musculamos	musculáis	musculan
	imperfect	musculaba	musculabas	musculaba	musculábamos	musculabais	musculaban
	preterite	musculé	musculaste	musculó	musculamos	musculasteis	muscularon
	future	muscularé	muscularás	musculará	muscularemos	muscularéis	muscularán
	conditional	muscularía	muscularías	muscularía	muscularíamos	muscularíais	muscularían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	muscule	musculestú musculésvos2	muscule	musculemos	musculéis	musculen
	imperfect (ra)	musculara	muscularas	musculara	musculáramos	muscularais	muscularan
	imperfect (se)	musculase	musculases	musculase	musculásemos	musculaseis	musculasen
	future1	musculare	musculares	musculare	musculáremos	musculareis	muscularen
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		musculatú musculávos	muscule	musculemos	musculad	musculen
	negative		no muscules	no muscule	no musculemos	no musculéis	no musculen

¹Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of muscular

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive muscular	dative	muscularme	muscularte	muscularle, muscularse	muscularnos	muscularos	muscularles, muscularse
	accusative	muscularme	muscularte	muscularlo, muscularla, muscularse	muscularnos	muscularos	muscularlos, muscularlas, muscularse
with gerund musculando	dative	musculándome	musculándote	musculándole, musculándose	musculándonos	musculándoos	musculándoles, musculándose
	accusative	musculándome	musculándote	musculándolo, musculándola, musculándose	musculándonos	musculándoos	musculándolos, musculándolas, musculándose
with informal second-person singular tú imperative muscula	dative	muscúlame	muscúlate	muscúlale	muscúlanos	not used	muscúlales
	accusative	muscúlame	muscúlate	muscúlalo, muscúlala	muscúlanos	not used	muscúlalos, muscúlalas
with informal second-person singular vos imperative musculá	dative	musculame	musculate	musculale	musculanos	not used	musculales
	accusative	musculame	musculate	musculalo, musculala	musculanos	not used	musculalos, musculalas
with formal second-person singular imperative muscule	dative	muscúleme	not used	muscúlele, muscúlese	muscúlenos	not used	muscúleles
	accusative	muscúleme	not used	muscúlelo, muscúlela, muscúlese	muscúlenos	not used	muscúlelos, muscúlelas
with first-person plural imperative musculemos	dative	not used	musculémoste	musculémosle	musculémonos	musculémoos	musculémosles
	accusative	not used	musculémoste	musculémoslo, musculémosla	musculémonos	musculémoos	musculémoslos, musculémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative musculad	dative	musculadme	not used	musculadle	musculadnos	musculaos	musculadles
	accusative	musculadme	not used	musculadlo, musculadla	musculadnos	musculaos	musculadlos, musculadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative musculen	dative	muscúlenme	not used	muscúlenle	muscúlennos	not used	muscúlenles, muscúlense
	accusative	muscúlenme	not used	muscúlenlo, muscúlenla	muscúlennos	not used	muscúlenlos, muscúlenlas, muscúlense

Further reading

• “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], 2024 December 10