ponderous

adjective

ˈpän-d(ə-)rəs How to pronounce ponderous (audio)
Definition of ponderousnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Much of the show is given to ponderous historical segues. —Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025 There’s no long-winded exposition, no ponderous articulation of the themes, and no punches pulled. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025 Yes, Invasion has received mixed reviews for its ponderous pacing (especially in the first season). —Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025 This year’s popular new music has been decidedly downbeat, with ballads and ponderous country songs topping the charts, Errico said. —Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous
  1. boring
  2. massive
  3. clumsy
  4. slow
  5. heavy
  6. awkward
  7. tiring
  8. cumbersome
Adjective
  • Lina had given up pretending to sleep; her parents were boring today.
    — Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Others have called out the boring marketing campaign based around flogging variants in order for Swift to finally beat the record for the biggest opening sales week for a female artist in history (currently held by Adele, which she is likely projected to break).
    — Bianca Davino, Refinery29, 7 Oct. 2025
Definition of boring
Adjective
  • Institutions, some of which now hold massive bitcoin positions, are looking to turn idle crypto holdings into working and productive capital.
    — Luke Xie, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Many are convinced that the massive amount of spending in the data center buildout will keep the AI rally going for the foreseeable future.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2025
Definition of massive
Adjective
  • Actually, Alma does suffer from ulcers, which cause her extraordinary stomach pain and vomiting at inconvenient moments, and cause viewers to wonder not if but when such clumsy symbolic traits will be trotted out in the future.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2025
  • There had to be an element of her that was sort of clumsy.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
Definition of clumsy
Adjective
  • The episodes feel choppy, hardly letting anything land, yet still feeling slow.
    — Grace Byron, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The crowd, quietening into a slow clap with the moment building, burst into a celebration.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2025
Definition of slow
Adjective
  • When heavy rain occurs, there is a risk of flooding, particularly in low-lying and flood-prone regions.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Sarr struggles to finish shots through contact against heavier bigs.
    — Josh Robbins, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Definition of heavy
Adjective
  • That’s six games without a goal now for their new striker, who still looks awkward in this side.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The onion on top is a little awkward to cut and to eat, so think of this as a knife-and-fork cornbread.
    — Ann Taylor Pittman, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025
Definition of awkward
Adjective
  • However, some Republicans have spoken out against her and recently reported that some administration officials are tiring of her, suggesting her influence is not unbridled.
    — Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The first trimester was always tiring.
    — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025
Definition of tiring
Adjective
  • From scrunchies that secretly double as drink covers to zipper clips that stop pickpockets from opening your backpack, these viral finds prove that travel safety doesn’t have to be cumbersome or expensive.
    — Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Big, cumbersome, and greasy, baking sheets can be a pain to clean and dry off.
    — Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 21 Sep. 2025
Definition of cumbersome

Browse Nearby Words

pondering
ponderous
ponderousness
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Cite this Entry

“Ponderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponderous. Accessed 12 Oct. 2025.

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