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as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest fell asleep during the ponderous speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective ponderous differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of ponderous are cumbersome, cumbrous, heavy, and weighty. While all these words mean "having great weight," ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

How do cumbrous and cumbersome relate to one another, in the sense of ponderous?

Both cumbrous and cumbersome imply heaviness and bulkiness that make for difficulty in grasping, moving, carrying, or manipulating.

wrestled with the cumbrous furniture
early cameras were cumbersome and inconvenient

When could heavy be used to replace ponderous?

The synonyms heavy and ponderous are sometimes interchangeable, but heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

When is it sensible to use weighty instead of ponderous?

In some situations, the words weighty and ponderous are roughly equivalent. However, weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ponderous Credit to Slot and the players for increasing the tempo of the game since that half with quicker passes and less ponderous buildup. Gregg Evans, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025 What happens to the victims is swept under the rug, but the number of traumatized, law abiding citizens paying a dear price now under that rug is becoming a ponderous digit. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 Jan. 2025 Both seasons tackle a wide range of pressing social issues (inequality of wealth, prejudice, capitalism, consumerism) without being ponderous. Tom Gliatto, People.com, 26 Dec. 2024 And when the outcome is slow, ponderous and predictable, the risk to set up in that shape becomes even less worth taking. Thom Harris, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous
Adjective
  • Anything that isn’t someone bleeding out is boring to them, that kind of thing.
    Maria Fontoura, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2025
  • Bring the shirt around your shoulders while adding extra color and dimension to your look—cold weather fits don’t have to be boring.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • May is the first month where the adjustments are seeing massive swings.
    Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 10 Apr. 2025
  • There was a feeling that the country was coming out of a massive crisis and that global institutions had a responsibility to help rebuild the country, strengthen its healthcare system, and make sure an outbreak like this could never happen again.
    The Dial, The Dial, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Raw also advertised Bayley challenging Lyra Valkyria for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship, Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio and the world’s most clumsy GM Adam Pearce making his next fumble of the worst storyline going this WrestleMania season between Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky.
    Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • This is why the Trump administration’s DOGE exercise — while clumsy at times — is such an important endeavor despite Democratic efforts to discredit it.
    Editorial, Boston Herald, 4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The slowest builder finished before the one who overslept.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Samsung is neck and neck with Google, but its updates are often slower and more limited on older phones.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There’s a heavy proportion of viewers that aren’t being captured by the metrics.
    Shane Young, Forbes.com, 5 Apr. 2025
  • At the same time crews were battling the blaze, overnight storms intensified, bringing heavy rains and wind along with lightning, officials said.
    Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Sisterhood in sports can come with awkward moments, though.
    Evan Drellich, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
  • Michelle Williams truly showed how to remain graceful under pressure this weekend as she was put in an awkward situation mid-air.
    Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Of course, going from shows to pickleball classes to after-hours jam sessions at B.B. King’s Blues Club can be tiring.
    DeMarco Williams, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Sanchez added a selfie from bed, sharing how tiring her pregnancy is.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • As legal professionals gain increasing authority over AI deployment decisions, new internal stakeholders are introduced, making the organizational process of adopting AI systems more cumbersome.
    Nizan Geslevich Packin, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Like so many others, they are left with an impossible choice: involve the criminal justice system — which may be slow, cumbersome and invasive — or do nothing and hope the situation doesn’t escalate.
    Eric Gonzalez, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ponderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponderous. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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