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Portly vs Bulky - What's the difference?

portly | bulky | Related terms |

As adjectives the difference between portly and bulky

is that portly is somewhat fat, pudgy, overweight while bulky is being large in size, mass, or volume.

portly

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Somewhat fat, pudgy, overweight.
  • * 1824 , , Tales of a Traveller , Introduction:
  • Indeed, the poor man has grown ten times as nervous as ever, since he has discovered, on such good authority, who the stout gentleman was. . . . He has anxiously endeavored to call up a recollection of what he saw of that portly personage; and has ever since kept a curious eye on all gentlemen of more than ordinary dimensions.
  • * 1913 , , The Little Nugget , ch. 14:
  • His portly middle section, rising beyond like a small hill, heaved rhythmically.
  • * 2011 July 6, Nick Carbone, " Top 10 Worst Fictional Camp Counselors," Time (retrieved 8 May 2014):
  • In Heavyweights , Tony Perkis (Ben Stiller) is a fitness guru who installs himself as the über-buff leader of Camp Hope, with the goal of helping portly youngsters shed their saggy stomachs and thunder thighs.
  • *1590 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , III.2:
  • *:Portly his person was, and much increast
  • Through his Heroicke grace and honourable gest.
  • * 1728 , , "A Dialogue between Mad Mullinix and Timothy":
  • Be studious well to imitate
    My portly motion, mien, and gait

    Usage notes

    * When used to refer to someone who is overweight, portly'' is a less harsh term than ''fat .

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * portliness

    See also

    *

    bulky

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Being large in size, mass, or volume.
  • Unwieldy
  • (bodybuilding) Having excess body mass, especially muscle.