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burly

[bur-lee] / ˈbɜr li /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Quigley, bearded and burly but soft-edged with a deliberative way of speaking that can serve a range of emotions, is brilliant, and Patel balances him admirably.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

From it emerged a 64-year-old dairyman, burly and tan, who left the engine running as he lumbered toward me with open arms.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026

Brunson, a burly scorer who does much of his work inside the 3-point arc, used the newfound space to pour in 35 points Monday night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

Another new candidate in the Platner-mold is burly Pennsylvania firefighter Bob Brooks, who is running for Congress.

From Barron's ● May 3, 2026

All of a sudden he noticed that the other fellow, the burly one, had stood up and moved a step forward.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Humans, it turns out, may be just like animals, with cold-adapted species tending to be burlier with thicker, shorter limbs to limit heat loss.

From BBC ● May 11, 2023

With the help of heavy makeup and costume work, he first portrayed the much older, burlier dairyman in his 30s and quite literally aged into the role.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2023

After the hotly-contested casting of Tom Cruise as author Lee Child's pulp hero in a 2012 feature film, the far burlier Alan Ritchson has received a much warmer welcome.

From Salon ● May 9, 2022

The challenge, he concluded, was to turn himself into the game’s most complete player — one with no discernible weakness and myriad tactical options to defeat burlier men.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2021

This new white knight was not so tall nor comely as the old one, but he was bigger across the chest, burlier, his arms thick with muscle.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Quinn Hughes isn’t the biggest or burliest skater on the ice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

These guys make anyone think twice about running up the middle, possessing the size and skill to stop even the Big Ten’s burliest tailbacks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2024

California's burliest burglar is no longer the lone suspect in nearly 40 home break-ins across the Lake Tahoe region, wildlife officials have said.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2022

Small wonder that even the burliest jocks in high school looked to me for fashion tips.

From New York Times ● Nov. 3, 2016

But the appearance of its owner, the burliest of several women now employing the establishment’s facilities, deterred him.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote


Vocabulary lists containing burly

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