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
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 heavy
Adjective
After a century of heavy grazing by cattle, the country was taken over by mesquite.—
Jack O'Connor,
Outdoor Life,
23 July 2026 The access question this whole story raises is one WWE's celebrity-heavy era will keep facing.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2026
Noun
In a wide-ranging conversation for Entertainment Weekly's cover story on the latest entry in the horror parody franchise, Faris looked back on her time making the stunt-heavy threequel in 2003.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 June 2026 In any year, in any culture, there are no antagonists (save for Nazis) better suited as action cinema heavies; rooting against child trafficking lowlifes is moral, easy, and best of all, a completely guiltless pleasure.—
Andy Crump,
IndieWire,
15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavy
Multiple people were injured Thursday after a Kenmore Air floatplane made an emergency landing off the Washington coast before catching fire, prompting a massive rescue operation, authorities said.
—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
24 July 2026
DeepSeek challenged the conventional wisdom that developing an advanced AI model requires massive financial investment and vast computing power, and offered competitive pricing.
But some have pushed back on the idea that the threat of harsh legal punishment could prevent the gatherings in the first place.
—
Safiyah Riddle,
Fortune,
25 July 2026
Even if it's erased later, everyone now knows it can be drawn again, along the same criteria or something harsher, and that no one outside Washington controls where that line lands next.
Hope Lodge | Sutherland, Scotland Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen opened this lodge as part of his intensive, extensive investments into his adoptive home of Scotland, which he’s dubbed Wildland.
—
Laura Dannen Redman,
Robb Report,
23 July 2026
But Kenneth Corey, who spent more than three decades at the New York City Police Department, says more intensive vetting, such as mandatory psychological evaluations, is becoming more common.
The claim and counterclaim are among serious allegations – including of smear campaigns and embezzlement – aired in multiple court cases now swirling around the production of the Australian musical comedy.
—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
22 July 2026
Deputies followed behind and reported no serious injuries related to the rolling sedan.
Copy Citation
