How to Use burly in a Sentence

burly

adjective
  • Wolf, a smidgen over 5 feet tall, was dwarfed by the burly man.
    — The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Oct. 2021
  • The Alex rims are wide and burly, and both wheels seem to be built well.
    — James Huang, Outside Online, 25 Oct. 2022
  • All the exits were blocked by burly bouncers and the doors were barred.
    — Longreads, 10 Aug. 2020
  • Jones was a burly 6-3 with a thick mustache and a hard stare.
    — Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 22 Nov. 2021
  • The burly man recoiled, then shot back that only a court could judge him.
    — Michael E. Miller and Samantha Schmidt, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Nov. 2022
  • That thick black stout also leapt out of the glass with a burly boozy aroma.
    — Josh Noel, chicagotribune.com, 8 Feb. 2018
  • The five-speed shifter has long throws, the clutch is heavy, and the engine revs with a burly roar.
    — Arthur St. Antoine, Car and Driver, 24 Mar. 2020
  • But the burly defenseman got into the flow as the game wore on.
    — Sam Carchidi, Philly.com, 13 Dec. 2017
  • One whack and the burly guard or crime boss henchman is knocked out for the rest of the caper.
    — Rich Heldenfels, Boston Herald, 2 Mar. 2025
  • That combined with the hard water creates a burly style of sake.
    — Jenn Harrisstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Until the burly men at the ice house loaded two big bags of ice into the back.
    — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2021
  • Out went the scratchy plants, with the aid of a burly ex-convict who liked to work in gardens.
    — Leslie Eaton, idahostatesman, 10 Jan. 2018
  • Richard was rather like Philip in appearance—tall and burly and sandy.
    — Tessa Hadley, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2022
  • That moment capped the group’s two-year effort to climb the burly mountain.
    — Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 May 2023
  • Still, the burly 6-foot-6-inch forward is most proud of his defense.
    — Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Apr. 2022
  • Chris Panayiotou, a burly man with a kind smile, was always known for his playful side.
    — New York Times, 9 Jan. 2021
  • The wheels are burly and the telescoping handle allows for a smooth pull.
    — Francesca Krempa, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Ayton needs a burly opponent to go against to learn to play with his back to the basket.
    — Greg Moore, azcentral, 3 July 2019
  • Still, today, nobody is ready to see big, strong, kind of burly girls up there on the stage, fronting a rock band.
    — Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
  • The burly driver blocks the rejected from joining them, slams the door and speeds off.
    — Christian Shepherd, Vic Chiang, Lillian Yang and Theodora Yu, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 26 July 2023
  • Finney-Smith has the size and speed to match the burly Grizzlies big man and knocked the ball away.
    — Varun Shankar, Houston Chronicle, 27 Jan. 2026
  • In the front row, a burly deacon flipped the pages of his worn King James version.
    — Joshua Sharpe august 6, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The burly Faith Baptist boys proved too much, and the second half was a blow-out.
    — Nick Watt and Jack Hannah, CNN, 29 Nov. 2021
  • Drummond is a burly, 6-foot-11 glass glutton.
    — Fred Katz, New York Times, 6 May 2026
  • The burly man Corlys is talking to, Alyn, is the one who saved his life, pulling him from the sea.
    — Omar L. Gallaga, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
  • The uppers are burly and protective on the outside but soft and cushy on the inside.
    — Outside Online, 14 Mar. 2022
  • The kids would then pass the racks to burly furnacemen, who’d hoist them over the oak-wood coals in between nips of beer.
    — Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 24 Aug. 2023
  • The groom—short and burly, with thinning dark hair and eyes like coal—was weeks from his fortieth birthday.
    — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
  • From burly, off-grid vans to cozy, homes-on-wheels, camper vans are on the road and in your Instagram feeds.
    — Megan Barber, Curbed, 5 June 2019
  • The Thule runs a little taller and wider than your average stroller thanks to its burly rear wheels and stocky frame.
    — Erica Zazo, Outside, 20 Feb. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'burly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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