Meaning & use
brawler
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Meanings
nouncountabledisapproving
A person who often joins in noisy, rough fights, especially in bars or the street.
Grammar: Countable: a brawler, a group of brawlers.
Patterns
- a brawler in something
The old tavern had a reputation for drawing brawlers on Saturday nights.
He was a known brawler who got thrown out of three pubs.
Two brawlers were removed from the stands after the match.
nouncountablesport
A fighter in boxing or mixed martial arts who relies on aggression and toughness more than technique.
Grammar: Countable and often used in sport reports with an adjective: a hard-hitting brawler.
Patterns
- a brawler in the ring
The champion is a patient boxer, but his opponent is a pure brawler.
Fans loved the brawler for his willingness to take punches.
A skilled counterpuncher often beats a brawler.
Word forms
| plural | brawlers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a barroom brawler
- The film's hero is a retired barroom brawler.
- a street brawler
- The street brawler never started a fight, he said, only finished them.
- a drunken brawler
- Security removed a drunken brawler from the party.
- a tough brawler
- The tough brawler kept coming forward round after round.
- known brawler
- The police knew him as a known brawler in the district.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fighter
- Fighter is neutral and can mean a trained athlete or a soldier, while brawler suggests disorder and a taste for fighting.
- thug
- Thug is more strongly negative and suggests a criminal who uses violence on purpose.
- scrapper
- Scrapper is informal and sounds smaller and more admiring, like someone who fights hard despite the odds.
- bruiser
- Bruiser stresses a big, strong body and may be used for a bodyguard, not necessarily a person who starts fights.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: brawler or brawn?
brawler vs brawn
Brawn means physical strength and muscle, whereas a brawler is a person who fights roughly.
Practice
A sports commentator calls a boxer a 'brawler'. What does that most likely suggest about his style?
Choose one answer.
A brawler fights roughly and aggressively. The other options describe cautious or unrelated behavior.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “brawler”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.