BURLY (burlier, burliest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: burlier    , burliest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does burly mean? 

• BURLY (adjective)
  The adjective BURLY has 1 sense:

1. muscular and heavily built

  Familiarity information: BURLY used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BURLY (adjective)

Comparative: burlier   
Superlative: burliest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Muscular and heavily built

Synonyms:

beefy; buirdly; burly; husky; strapping

Context example:

'buirdly' is a Scottish term

Similar:

robust (sturdy and strong in form, constitution, or construction)

Domain region:

Scotland (one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; located on the northern part of the island of Great Britain; famous for bagpipes and plaids and kilts)

 Context examples 

One of these, a short, burly, red-faced man, full of fuss and self-importance, came hurrying up to my uncle.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Down the slanting road there was riding a big, burly man, clad in a tunic of purple velvet and driving a great black horse as hard as it could gallop.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He was dressed in a legal-looking suit of black, and loomed, burly and large, in that small office.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

You know I am no light weight, and the others were both burly men.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“Round the house, lads! Round the house!” cried the captain; and even in the hurly-burly, I perceived a change in his voice.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The words were hardly out of his mouth before a man appeared at the door of the room, a very fat and burly man, with a heavy stick in his hand.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In person he was a thick-set, burly man with a shock of grizzled hair, a brown, weather-beaten face, and blue eyes which were keen to the verge of fierceness.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I am sure that the men upon the coach knew who the burly smith was, and looked upon it as a prime joke to see their companion walk into such a trap.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“All very well, Roger Harcomb,” cried a burly, bull-necked young man, whose square shoulders and massive limbs told of exceptional personal strength.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A burly Sussex policeman and I had found it no light job.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)