causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
the study of history doesn't have to be all about dull heavy reading and the memorization of dates
How does the adjective heavy differ from other similar words?
Some common synonyms of heavy are cumbersome, cumbrous, ponderous, and weighty. While all these words 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
How are the words cumbrous and cumbersome related as synonyms of heavy?
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 ponderous be used to replace heavy?
The meanings of ponderous and heavy largely overlap; however, ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.
ponderous elephants in a circus parade
Where would weighty be a reasonable alternative to heavy?
In some situations, the words weighty and heavy 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
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Recent Examples of heavy
Adjective
Cyclone Arnab roared ashore Wednesday in eastern India with powerful winds and heavy rain, killing three people and inundating roughly 200,000 acres of cropland, according to authorities.—
Sibi Arasu,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Oct. 2026 Thick hair often needs hot rollers to set curls through the lengths, with extra clips sometimes required to keep Velcro rollers secure in heavier sections.—
Ashley Lynch,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Oct. 2026
Noun
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the major averages, rising 2% for the week, while the S & P 500 jumped 1%.—
Alexa Lomonaco,
CNBC,
26 Sep. 2026 Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavy
The massive fire that broke out last November engulfed seven buildings in an apartment complex in a northern suburban district, killing 168 people and displacing thousands of others.
—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Oct. 2026
R136a1 is just such a star, the most massive star known, at several hundred times the sun’s bulk.
The course of Alzheimer’s disease is slightly slower than that of Lewy body dementia, according to Vossel.
—
Iris Kwok,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Oct. 2026
The team found that slower charging helped create more uniform, inorganic-rich protective layers, which are important for maintaining stable battery performance.
Even as the sense of a hazy disturbance in the force lingers, Burkholder’s approximately three-minute statement at least demystified some of the curious situation.
—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
23 Oct. 2026
The band frequently steers the poppy songwriting offroad by leaning into distortion and ambience, creating moments of both near-mania and hazy unease.
The Tallahassee Police Department said in a statement that 11 of the 12 were shot and that three victims had serious injuries, with one minor in serious condition.
—
Samantha Cookinham,
NBC news,
25 Oct. 2026
Bake this classic all the way through for a light and tender crumb, or cut the bake time short for serious gooey goodness in the center.
—
Mary Shannon Wells,
Southern Living,
25 Oct. 2026
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