musclebound

1 6.6

Having very large, stiff muscles that make movement hard, or not being flexible in thinking

adjective
/ˈmʌsəlˌbaʊnd/

: musculoso

Despite his musclebound appearance, he was not very agile on the dance floor.

Examples

With a sinking feeling, Coren realized the inevitable: Lenora was going to follow this musclebound oaf, without even asking where they were going.

Fiction book (1995)
Think he'll let us in, we got the Snoop and that musclebound asshole with us?

Out of Sight (1998)
You know, those guys are usually musclebound.

Champion (1949)
But I didn't have a guitar, and more and more, I wanted to be a musclebound hero.

Fiction book (2002)
The huge, musclebound brawler.

Blog text (25)
He couldn't help observing that the woman's hips looked slight, boyish, and the husband, though not tall, bordered on being musclebound; he had the physique of a hod carrier.

Fiction book (1995)
The musclebound athlete struggled to reach for the ball due to his stiff arms.
Many people believe that being musclebound makes someone strong, but flexibility is also important.

Synonyms

stiff

vsmusclebound

134 1.7

Not easy to bend or move

focuses more on large muscle bulk causing the stiffness

rigid

vsmusclebound

37 4.0

Does not bend because it is stiff

refers specifically to large muscles causing limited movement or thought flexibility

muscle-bound

vsmusclebound

6 6.2

Large stiff muscles that make it hard to move

is the same meaning but written without a hyphen

inflexible

vsmusclebound

2 4.9

Not able to bend or change shape

emphasizes physical size and muscle-related stiffness instead of general rigidity

stiffish

vsmusclebound

1 4.9

A little hard to bend or move

implies greater muscle size and stiffness that restricts movement

Antonyms

flexible

46 3.4

Able to bend easily without breaking and return to shape

agile

26 3.7

Able to move quickly and easily like a gymnast

How Stiff

rigid

37 4.0

musclebound

1 6.6

toned

16 2.9

flexible

46 3.4

Surface Forms

musclebound positive

Morphology

musclebound = muscle + bound (transparent) = muscle + bound

A straightforward compound of 'muscle' + 'bound' meaning 'bound by muscles' (having bulky muscles that restrict movement), which learners can infer from the parts.

Etymology

The word musclebound combines muscle, the body part, and bound, which means 'tied' or 'held'. Picture muscles so large or stiff they 'tie' you up, and you can see why musclebound means not flexible in the body and often in the mind.