1
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
fell asleep during the ponderous speech
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in massive
having great weight
those ponderous pachyderms more commonly known as elephants
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3
as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
lugged a ponderous movie camera all over China
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ponderous
And, priced at just one penny per issue, the new paper was marketed to a much larger public than mercantile sheets like the ponderous Courier and Enquirer.
—
Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Stories and secrets In between chapters, Doom: The Dark Ages breaks things up with some extremely ponderous cutscenes featuring a number of religious and political factions, both demon and human, jockeying for position and control in an interdimensional war.
—ArsTechnica, 9 May 2025
Long, ponderous trains snake through at regular intervals.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025
Too often novels packed with this many ideas sacrifice emotion in favor of mounting a ponderous argument; Norlin instead writes visceral episodes that speak for themselves.
—Joumana Khatib, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Matthew Karp, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Stories and secrets In between chapters, Doom: The Dark Ages breaks things up with some extremely ponderous cutscenes featuring a number of religious and political factions, both demon and human, jockeying for position and control in an interdimensional war.
—ArsTechnica, 9 May 2025
Long, ponderous trains snake through at regular intervals.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025
Too often novels packed with this many ideas sacrifice emotion in favor of mounting a ponderous argument; Norlin instead writes visceral episodes that speak for themselves.
—Joumana Khatib, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous
Adjective
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The main reason Jacksonville is so boring, FinanceBuzz found, is that much of its population is thinly scattered across the city.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 July 2025
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GoPro has also dropped a white version and a forest green version if black is too boring for you.—
Scott Gilbertson,
Wired News,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Some donors continue to feel bitter about the massive amounts of money spent by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign and the Biden/Harris aligned super PAC Future Forward.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
14 July 2025
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After China fired ballistic missiles at American bases in Japan, the fighting exploded, with the U.S. launching massive strikes against the mainland and Japanese jets attacking Chinese ships.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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And Hank’s own clumsy attempts at hypermasculine child-rearing often come from his father, Cotton (Toby Huss).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
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Gone are are the days of clumsy imagery and texts and fake sign-in pages that can be detected in an instant.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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The whales often appear unbothered, turning gently toward swimmers or drifting by in slow, graceful passes.—
Evie Carrick,
Travel + Leisure,
5 July 2025
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Now, in the new study, researchers have gathered data that supports the theory that the demise of tropical forests, and their slow recovery, limited carbon sequestration – a process where carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in plants, soils or minerals.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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As health insurance premiums continue to climb across the country, a new report from WalletHub highlights which states are shouldering the heaviest burdens—and which are paying relatively little.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 2025
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When heavy rain occurs, there is a risk of flooding, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone regions.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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An historic night at Madison Square Garden on Friday night turned into an awkward moment in the wee hours of Saturday morning at the Taylor-Serrano 3 post-fight press conference.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
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Advertisement Advertisement To illustrate this point, consider the best man at a wedding who, instead of celebrating the couple, shares personal stories that only serve to embarrass them, often with awkward details that have no place in such a tender moment.—
Matt Abrahams,
Time,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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After a tiring day walking around the parks, the most relaxing, soothing and healing experience is to sit out on the decks of the treehouse.—
Kissa Castaneda,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
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Dickinson led off the semifinal game and roped a double off his metal bat that Smith said woke him up from a long, tiring day.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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Second, immigrant families could obtain relief through class-action lawsuits, although filing class actions in federal court can be a lengthy and cumbersome process.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
6 July 2025
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Their effects will be modulated by how cumbersome or efficient work-verification systems are, by the availability of insurance-eligibility workers, and by community outreach or lack thereof.—
Lindsay Ryan,
The Atlantic,
5 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ponderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponderous. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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