muscles

verb

present tense third-person singular of muscle
1
as in forces
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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2
as in pushes
to force one's way muscling straight through the packed crowd of people waiting to board the ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 muscles Which muscles the farmer’s walk targets The move works nearly the entire body, but leg muscles, the core and shoulder muscles carry most of the load. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026 One year later, the XFL muscles its way onto the national sports scene with its first two games. — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2026 Gringo Films does not sound like the kind of company that muscles its way into the global animation business. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muscles
  1. forces
  2. pushes
  3. compels
  4. shoulders
  5. coerces
  6. elbows
  7. squeezes
Verb
  • The companies and economies that endure will be the ones that can balance growth, resilience and sustainability—and change before outside pressure forces them to.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The process forces light atomic nuclei together at extremely high temperatures and under intense pressure.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • The figures are averages, and a small number of very big spenders pushes them up.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • If the midterms clear the deck of uncertainty and tech leadership pushes the index to fresh highs, these calls will provide leveraged participation in the ongoing rally.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of pushes
Verb
  • Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026
  • However, the necessity of operating without a financial safety net compels one to internalize these lessons.
    — Shreyans Lodha, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • Mary Amiti, Sebastian Heise and David Weinstein looked at who shoulders the cost of the tariffs, examining which part of the tariff reaches consumers through higher prices versus which share of the price hike is due to other factors.
    — Veronique De Rugy, Oc Register, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Elordi nearly shoulders the running time but plays his Hig a bit too humbly.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of shoulders
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of coerces
Verb
  • Where the Cayenne’s steering is calibrated so that the road nudges the driver, Bentley’s elbows back at those perturbances.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Montana props himself up on a utility stool for our interview, elbows on a wood table, while holding his phone in his hand.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 30 July 2026
Definition of elbows
Verb
  • That wrestling match itself, however, makes for compelling theater about as often as the camel squeezes through the needle.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The jobs market has been resilient even as stubbornly high inflation squeezes businesses and households.
    — Damian J. Troise, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of squeezes

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muscled
muscles
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Cite this Entry

“Muscles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muscles. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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