heavy-armed

7.2

A person who has large strong arms that are good for lifting or fighting

adjective
/ˈhɛvi ɑrmd/

: musculoso

The boxer was a heavy-armed opponent, intimidating everyone with his sheer strength.

Examples

Her heavy-armed build made her an exceptional swimmer and athlete.
He stood at the door, heavy-armed and broad-shouldered, filling the frame.
The heavy-armed soldier stood at attention.
She admired the heavy-armed athletes at the competition.
The boxer was a heavy-armed opponent, intimidating everyone with his sheer strength.
Her heavy-armed build made her an exceptional swimmer and athlete.
He stood at the door, heavy-armed and broad-shouldered, filling the frame.

Synonyms

muscular

vsheavy-armed

12 3.0

Showing strong, forceful energy in action or style

focuses on very large bulky upper body parts rather than whole strength

hulking

vsheavy-armed

1 5.5

Very big and heavy, often looking awkward or scary

stresses concentrated upper body bulk rather than broad awkward size

heavy-limbed

vsheavy-armed

6.7

Arms and legs feel heavy and make moving slow and hard

focuses on concentrated upper body bulk rather than general slowness

How Muscular

heavy-armed

7.2

brawny

6 4.7

muscly

Informal

2 3.7

muscular

49 2.8

lean

108 2.5

slight

42 3.2

Surface Forms

heavy-armed positive

Morphology

heavy-armed = heavy + armed (semi-transparent) = heavy + armed

The compound structure heavy + armed is clear, but 'armed' more commonly means 'equipped with weapons' so the sense 'having large muscular arms' is not the usual interpretation and may mislead learners.

Etymology

Heavy-armed is made of two clear parts: heavy ('weighing a lot') and armed from arm ('the body part you use to lift and push'). So it paints a simple picture of a person with very big, strong arms, which is exactly what the word means.