cumbersome

adjective

cum·​ber·​some ˈkəm-bər-səm How to pronounce cumbersome (audio)
1
: unwieldy because of heaviness and bulk
a cumbersome package
2
: slow-moving : ponderous
cumbersome administrative procedures
3
dialect : burdensome, troublesome
cumbersomely adverb
cumbersomeness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for cumbersome

heavy, weighty, ponderous, cumbrous, cumbersome 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

weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

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

Examples of cumbersome in a Sentence

Squad members, already decked out in cumbersome chemical suits, put on masks and rubber gloves. Ray Wilkinson, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 1991
He got the approval of the higher-ups, but the course was scuttled by members of his own department, who devised all kinds of cumbersome, silly requirements and prerequisites. Alice Munro, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 1989
He cut some segments of the 2" pine but discovered that … a cumbersome system of braces would be needed to hold the sides straight. John Updike, Couples, 1968
The application process is cumbersome and time-consuming. Her expanded job title is really cumbersome.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Big, cumbersome, and greasy, baking sheets can be a pain to clean and dry off. Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 30 June 2025 Federal law has long given authorities the power to impose such fines, although they were rarely issued until the first Trump administration, and even then only rarely because officials found the process cumbersome. Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 27 June 2025 Future challenges to presidential actions may require either cumbersome class action lawsuits or a patchwork of individual cases – potentially leaving many Americans without immediate protection from policies that courts determine violate the Constitution. Cassandra Burke Robertson, The Conversation, 27 June 2025 The actions come as deepfakes have become increasingly common, affecting celebrities such as pop star Taylor Swift and even Pope Francis as well as many less famous people, and also grown more cumbersome to identify as AI-generated. Solcyré Burga, Time, 27 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for cumbersome

Word History

Etymology

see cumber entry 1

First Known Use

1535, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of cumbersome was in 1535

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cumbersome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cumbersome. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

cumbersome

adjective
cum·​ber·​some ˈkəm-bər-səm How to pronounce cumbersome (audio)
: hard to handle or manage because of size or weight
cumbersomely adverb
cumbersomeness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on cumbersome

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!