Synonyms of cumbersome

cumbersome

adjective

ˈkəm-bər-səm 

as in clumsy

difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design

a long-handled wrench that is too cumbersome for tight spots, such as under the sink

Synonyms & Similar Words

• clumsy
• awkward
• unwieldy
• clunky
• ungainly
• cumbrous
• unhandy
• ponderous
• heavy
• impractical
• cranky
• bulky
• unmanageable
• massive
• bunglesome
• uncontrollable
• impracticable
• dinosauric
• elephantine
• hulking
• dinosaurian

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• practical
• useful
• functional
• handy
• practicable
• serviceable

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective cumbersome differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of cumbersome are cumbrous, heavy, ponderous, and weighty. While all these words mean "having great weight," 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

Where would heavy be a reasonable alternative to cumbersome?

While in some cases nearly identical to cumbersome, heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

When can ponderous be used instead of cumbersome?

The words ponderous and cumbersome can be used in similar contexts, but ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

When might weighty be a better fit than cumbersome?

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

a load of weighty boxes

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of cumbersome

That would require presidential approval, and the process would likely be slow and cumbersome. —Erika Allen Wolters, The Conversation, 24 Mar. 2025

The clickhouse crate, for example, lacks the full feature set available in Python, making direct integration with analytical workloads more cumbersome. —Amandeep Midha, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

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