Burly worker fairly gutted (5)
I believe the answer is:
beefy
'burly' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'worker fairly gutted' is the wordplay.
'worker' becomes 'bee' (a worker bee).
'gutted' means to remove the middle letters (to gut something is to remove its insides).
'fairly' with its middle removed is 'fy'.
'bee'+'fy'='BEEFY'
(Other definitions for beefy that I've seen before include "Muscularly well-developed" , "Athletic and muscular (non-vegetarian?)" , "Brawny" , "like some bully?" , "Solid" .)