CUMBERSOME Synonyms: 27 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

cumbersome

adjective

ˈkəm-bər-səm

Definition of cumbersome next

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

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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

Examples of cumbersome in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Extras playing fish people and creatures made of moss wander the sound stage in their cumbersome costumes. —

Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024 The reason for this is that State Street services often get integrated with existing client technology and reporting which can make moving custodian banks a fairly cumbersome projects for clients. —

Gurufocus, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024 And in Georgia, Republicans on the state election board have implemented rules to force cumbersome — and slower, more error-prone — hand counts of all votes at each precinct to check if the total matches the machine count, although those changes face a legal challenge to their implementation. —

Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 30 Sep. 2024 Microsoft Creating and switching between separate groups of units is a finger-contorting and cumbersome exercise. —

Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 18 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cumbersome

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cumbersome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.