muscular

/ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/

//ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"muscular" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“muscular” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,749. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,749
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, relating to, or connected with muscles.

Corpus desk

Index EN-muscular · muscular · English

muscular · rank #11,749 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #11,749
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mormon

Nearest frequency peer: Mormon (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “muscular”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “muscular” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

muscular vs macular
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for muscular
PropertyValue
Headwordmuscular
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#11,749
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “muscular”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).muscularlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Mormon” (#11,748), “neutrality” (#11,750), “monarchy” (#11,747). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “muscular” is #11,749. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around muscular (IPA /ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #11,749 among 4,057 “M” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for muscular, with forms such as "mmuscular", "msucular", and "mucsular". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "macular", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Late 17th century; from muscle (Latin mūsculus) + -ar. Compare French musculaire. The correct English form is muscular, spelled M-U-S-C-U-L-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of, relating to, or connected with muscles.
  2. 2
    Brawny, thewy, having strength.
  3. 3
    Having large, well-developed muscles.
  4. 4
    Robust, strong.
  5. 5
    Full-bodied

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how muscular appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. It was an effort of the mind, of the will, of the nerves; not muscular, for I could not move even so much as my little finger, but none the less mighty for all that.
  2. It was a strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, [...] The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength.

Etymology

Late 17th century; from muscle (Latin mūsculus) + -ar. Compare French musculaire.

This word in other languages

muscular(Español)musculaire(Français)muskulär(Deutsch)muscular(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • mmuscular
  • msucular
  • mucsular
  • musccular
  • muscluar
  • muscualr
  • muscularr
  • muscullar
  • musculra
  • musscular
  • musuclar
  • umscular

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of muscular - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

mmuscular1msucular2mucsular2musccular1muscluar2muscualr2muscularr1muscullar1
Edit distance from "muscular"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "muscular"?
"muscular" is spelled M-U-S-C-U-L-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/.
What does "muscular" mean?
As an adjective, "muscular" means: Of, relating to, or connected with muscles.
What words are commonly confused with "muscular"?
"muscular" is commonly confused with "macular". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "muscular"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "muscular" is /ˈmʌs.kjʊl.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "muscular"?
Late 17th century; from muscle (Latin mūsculus) + -ar. Compare French musculaire. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "muscular", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

monarchy#11,747molecule#11,746Meredith#11,741mattress#11,740

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

malicious12 variantslocality12 variantsprostate12 variantsinaugural12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list