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sinewy

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Having strong, lean muscles or tendons. It often describes a body that looks powerful and wiry.

Detailed Definition
In older or more literary English, sinewy is a vivid physical descriptor for strength and firmness, especially in arms, hands, or movement. Here it emphasizes the blacksmith’s hard-working, muscular build rather than just saying he is strong.
Example
Example in poetry:
“With large and sinewy hands” describes hands as muscular and strong; Whitman often celebrates the sinewy laboring body in democratic catalogues; “A sinewy root split stone beside the track” transfers bodily strength to nature; Contemporary-style example: “Her sinewy arms lifted the canoe above the flood”
Additional Notes
The adjective in “With large and sinewy hands” is literary and less common in everyday speech, so readers may pause over its exact meaning.; Found in the poem, The Village Blacksmith by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Also Known As
lean wiry lithe
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