1
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest fell asleep during the ponderous speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 Yunan The Bottom Line Not without ponderous moments, but poetic and affecting. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous
Adjective
  • The Salon Clutch Structured yet theatrical, Le Salon is Jacquemus’s answer to the evening clutch—pared back, but never boring.
    Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 10 May 2025
  • Robinson stars as Craig Waterman, a regular suburban guy with a boring job, a charming florist wife who's losing interest in him (Kate Mara), and a teenage son (Jack Dylan Grazer) whose indifference borders on hostility.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 9 May 2025
Adjective
  • Yet even as the party showcases a solidly deep bench of experience 2028 contenders, there is a nagging narrative, mostly in media circles, that Democrats should mimic the GOP by eloping with a non-traditional candidate with a massive entertainment or social media footprint.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 4 May 2025
  • So far, the Warner Bros. video game adaptation has generated a massive $398 million in North America.
    Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 May 2025
Adjective
  • For those things that are bigger, or subject to rough forces like clumsy human hands, through-hole soldering is still required, with leads poked through a connective hole and solder applied to connect and join them securely.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 Apr. 2025
  • The rubber sole is also important for clumsy gals like myself.
    Alyssa Grabinski, People.com, 12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The non-violent struggle for freedom is a slow but steady process.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 5 May 2025
  • The facade was one of drama but for Preston, the reality has been a slow, weary decline.
    Nick Miller, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • That means no heavy equipment and fewer dishes to clean. 2.
    Josh Miller, Southern Living, 11 May 2025
  • The Florida Panthers’ run of consistent success over the past handful of years, which reached a crescendo last year with the franchise winning its first Stanley Cup, plays a heavy part in that.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 11 May 2025
Adjective
  • Bill Belichick’s daughter-in-law seems none too pleased with his girlfriend Jordon Hudson, shading the 24-year-old for her behavior during the Super Bowl winner’s awkward new CBS interview as former Patriots Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski defended Hudson.
    Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 1 May 2025
  • The situation was made more awkward by the lack of support from anyone else at the table.
    Ashley Vega, People.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The Mets were three outs away from a sixth shutout in 23 games before Philadelphia scored four in the ninth off a tiring Max Kranick and Edwin Díaz.
    Tim Britton, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
  • Naturally, Raducanu’s level took a dip and the 2024 U.S Open runner-up seized the chance to let rip against a tiring opponent.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • In the medium term, reliance on AI will diminish our need and motivation to engage in cumbersome independent thought processes, potentially leading to cognitive atrophy in the long run.
    Cornelia C. Walther, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Realizing that the Defense Acquisition Guidebook, which ran to nearly 2,000 pages of rules, was cumbersome and unwieldy, Defense Department leaders launched a massive effort to update it.
    Mara Karlin, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ponderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponderous. Accessed 14 May. 2025.

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