Meaning & use
musculature
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The whole system of muscles in a body, or the way they are arranged.
Grammar: Uncountable: no plural, and no 'a' before it. Say 'the musculature is strong', not 'a musculature'.
Patterns
- the musculature of something
- somebody's musculature
The scan showed the musculature of the shoulder in fine detail.
Regular swimming develops the musculature of the back and shoulders.
In anatomy class we studied the musculature of the human arm.
noununcountabletechnical
The condition or development of someone's muscles, especially when strong or well defined.
Grammar: Also uncountable; often used with adjectives like 'powerful' or 'lean'.
Patterns
- powerful musculature
- lean musculature
- develop musculature
The athlete's powerful musculature was the result of years of training.
After the injury, his musculature on the left side became weak.
Good posture depends on balanced musculature around the spine.
Common combinations
- powerful musculature
- The horse's powerful musculature allows it to run fast.
- lean musculature
- Gymnasts often have lean musculature.
- develop musculature
- Weight training helps develop musculature.
- the musculature of the back
- She pulled a muscle in the musculature of her back.
- study the musculature
- Medical students study the musculature of the human body.
Synonyms and how they differ
- muscles
- The everyday word; 'musculature' is more technical and refers to the whole system or its arrangement.
- muscle system
- A plain descriptive phrase, less formal than 'musculature' and not used in anatomy textbooks.
Word family
- muscle noun
- A single organ that tightens to move parts of the body.
- muscular adjective
- Having well-developed muscles; relating to muscles.
- musculature noun
- The whole muscular system.
Commonly confused: musculature or muscularity?
musculature vs muscularity
Muscularity means the quality of being muscular, not the system itself.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Musculature' is uncountable, so it has no plural and takes a singular verb. 'Musculatures' and 'a musculature' are wrong, and 'are' does not agree with the singular uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “musculature”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.