causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
the study of history doesn't have to be all about dull heavy reading and the memorization of dates
How does the adjective heavy differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of heavy are cumbersome, cumbrous, ponderous, and weighty. While all these words mean "having great weight," heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.
a heavy child for his age
How are the words cumbrous and cumbersome related as synonyms of heavy?
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 ponderous be used to replace heavy?
The meanings of ponderous and heavy largely overlap; however, ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.
ponderous elephants in a circus parade
Where would weighty be a reasonable alternative to heavy?
In some situations, the words weighty and heavy 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 heavy
Adjective
Beyond the oil and gas industry, major banks including JPMorgan are making record profits during the ongoing war thanks to heavy trading volumes as investors rush to dump volatile assets or buy the dip.—
Victor Tangermann,
Futurism,
30 July 2026 The warmer air aloft acts like a lid, trapping the heavier, cooler air, which can’t easily flow over mountains.—Los Angeles Times,
30 July 2026
Noun
Most standard blends are nitrogen-heavy, which encourages leaf growth instead of fruit.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
20 June 2026 In a wide-ranging conversation for Entertainment Weekly's cover story on the latest entry in the horror parody franchise, Faris looked back on her time making the stunt-heavy threequel in 2003.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavy
Now add the fun of a massive road project that is essentially adjacent to the facility, and attending Longhorns football games this season — and the next several — will mean packing in more time.
—
Mac Engel
July 31,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 July 2026
According to Karim Gharbi, Extension Agent for Horticulture with CSU Extension in Denver County, the beetles' strength comes from overwhelming trees in massive numbers.
The slow pace continued for a while, but eventually, Punk took down Rhodes with a leaping heel kick and tweaked his knee.
—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2026
Long days were spent cleaning, drawing and waiting for customers during slow periods, all while mastering a craft that permanently alters another person’s body.
In the hazy distance, mainland Europe, their ultimate goal, lies across the sea.
—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Aug. 2026
Wildfires in Washington and British Columbia, Canada, are also expected to bring hazy skies and unhealthy air quality to the state over the next two days as smoke moves in from the north and temperatures climb toward 100 degrees.
In both premise and execution, the show is hugely reminiscent of the Showtime series of the aughts and early 2010s that featured women in harsh circumstances going to extremes in order to get one over on a society that didn’t care about them.
—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
1 Aug. 2026
Although he would not be drawn on future product pricing, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are set for release in September and will be affected by the harsh trading conditions.
The Warrior-Scholar Project is a STEM intensive founded in 2012 at Yale and has served nearly 3,000 veterans, challenging them with up to 75 hours of academic work.
—
Francesca Pinney,
Los Angeles Times,
30 July 2026
The company believes those products could support several parts of the defense manufacturing chain, particularly facilities involved in shipbuilding, advanced materials production and energy-intensive industrial operations.
—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 July 2026
Senior local official Dagnachew Azbite told the BBC that seven people had been found injured, with five of the victims sustaining serious injuries.
—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
5 Aug. 2026
Beyond the figures, a scroll of social media or a quick scan of the girlies at airports and Pilates reformer studios in major cities will tell you that Alo continues to capture serious athleisure market share.
For a long time, we’ve all been told that remastering the older Super Robot Wars games was extremely difficult, due to all the licensing and other costs involved.
—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
2 Aug. 2026
After three difficult years, armed groups loyal to Tehran appear to be bouncing back across the Middle East, reinforcing Iran’s leverage in its war with the US and Israel.
Copy Citation
