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
Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 4 Mar. 2025
Rather than let their bodies go to waste, Alyssa’s team dissected them, meticulously preserving their muscles, organs, and brains for studies attempting to connect the monkeys’ social lives to their anatomy and genetics.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2025
Both strategies will take some time to muscle through both chambers of Congress, especially with House Speaker Mike Johnson facing an even slimmer majority in the new year.
—Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for muscle
Noun
Both machines have you up on your feet, moving in the same plane of motion and largely calling on the same set of muscles.
—Jennifer Heimlich, SELF, 4 Mar. 2025
Rather than let their bodies go to waste, Alyssa’s team dissected them, meticulously preserving their muscles, organs, and brains for studies attempting to connect the monkeys’ social lives to their anatomy and genetics.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 3 Mar. 2025
Verb
The 2021 first-round pick is fully healthy again and has muscled up to around 220 pounds.
—Kyle Newman, The Denver Post, 8 Feb. 2025
Both strategies will take some time to muscle through both chambers of Congress, especially with House Speaker Mike Johnson facing an even slimmer majority in the new year.
—Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for muscle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muscle
Noun
-
That power is vested in prosecutors as executive branch officials.—
Michael Rothfeld,
New York Times,
8 Mar. 2025
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The pair of turbines can generate up to 75 percent of the island’s power.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
There’s an inner strength that comes out when needed.—
Jordan Greene,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
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Executing such an audacious plan takes courage, self-belief, and the ability to capitalise on one’s strengths.—
David Ferrini,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The episode opened right where the last one left off — Britney was forced to decide Danielle’s fate at the roundtable after Danielle and Ivar tied in votes at the penultimate banishment ceremony.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
7 Mar. 2025
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Tracking the Trump administration’s rollback of climate and environmental policies can seem like being forced through a wormhole back in time.—
Zoë Schlanger,
The Atlantic,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The world’s luxury automakers have long pushed a more money = more performance = better car paradigm, but that’s simply not the case with EVs.—
Michael Taylor,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Despite the trifecta, Trump is pushing an expansive view of executive power that questions the role of Congress and the courts to serve as a check over federal agencies.—
Alexandra Hutzler,
ABC News,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Trump raised flat tariffs on all Chinese imports to 20%, while Beijing countered with additional 15% duties on American imports including chicken, pork, soy and beef, and expanded controls on doing business with key U.S. companies.—
Bradford Betz,
Fox News,
7 Mar. 2025
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In the meantime, scientists said a return to beef tallow, with its high levels of saturated fat, isn’t the answer.—
Jonel Aleccia,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
Practicing medicine can be demanding on physicians’ time, energy, and wellbeing.—
Christopher M. Worsham,
TIME,
7 Mar. 2025
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But critics of the job cuts have warned new energy production will do little good if the grid is unprepared for the burden of it.—
Zack Budryk,
The Hill,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s rocky relationship with Zelensky goes back five years—to when Trump first held up military assistance Congress had authorized for Ukraine to coerce Zelensky into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
5 Mar. 2025
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A week later, the White House used the threat of tariffs to coerce Mexico into dispatching thousands of additional troops along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat fentanyl smuggling.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Risks remain—policy shifts could stall, or DOGE’s efficiency drive might squeeze budgets—but the upside potential is tantalizing.—
Jaime Catmull,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Goldman Sachs previously estimated that these tariffs could increase inflation by 1 percent while squeezing U.S. company profits and risking retaliatory measures from other nations.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 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 14 Mar. 2025.
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