LUMBERING Synonyms: 268 Similar and Opposite Words

lumbering 1 of 2

adjective

as in shambling

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Dissimilar Words

as in plodding

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

lumbering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of lumber

as in shuffling

to move heavily or clumsily the elephant lumbered through the jungle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually the novel's plot lumbers to its predictable conclusion after 500 long pages

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in rumbling

to make a low heavy rolling sound the horse-drawn wagon lumbered along the trail

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in loading

to place a weight or burden on preparations that will lumber the expedition with unnecessary equipment and supplies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 lumbering

Adjective

The Cubs players continued to taunt Ruth at every opportunity, and a big one came their way in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jurges slashed a sinking liner into right field and the lumbering, top-heavy Babe muffed a shoestring catch. — Literary Hub, 8 June 2026

Verb

And while Brooks Falls offers a front-row seat to their annual salmon feast, bears turn up throughout the park—digging for clams on windswept beaches, lumbering across open tundra, and prowling the banks of remote rivers. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026 Imax cameras are lumbering tools that weigh 300 pounds each and roar like Cuisinart blenders. — Brent Lang, Variety, 21 July 2026 Kaishu Sano gave the Samurai Blue the lead in the 29th minute with his first international goal, swooping past a lumbering Casemiro before firing low to goalkeeper Alisson’s right from the edge of the box. — David Hickey, NBC news, 30 June 2026 The invaders’ command-and-control systems were lumbering even before Ukraine began attacking them in earnest. — Phillips Payson O’Brien, The Atlantic, 30 June 2026 Kyle Schwarber was lumbering toward home plate. — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 26 June 2026 The sight of the lumbering actor wearing track clothes and sitting cross-legged while listening to a soothing relaxation tape on headphones is priceless. — Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 22 June 2026 The tractor was still lumbering forward but without me attached to it. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026 Flocks of tourists maneuvered around lumbering delivery trucks, hawked to by distributors of seemingly unlicensed 2026 Knicks championship gear. — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 18 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumbering

Adjective

With almost no plan, Sonny makes a shambling attempt at an armed robbery, only to end up trapped in the bank with the manager and five female tellers as his hostages.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 31 Mar. 2026
One rarely gains a sense of what people look like (beyond the son’s bulky physique and shambling movements, in which the mother ‘caught a flash of her brother’).

— Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026

Definition of shambling

Adjective

Bennie Liebenberg, a former geologist at the mine who was serving as our guide, has the plodding, slightly wide-eyed manner of someone who has spent a lot of time underground.

— James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
During the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, activists from the gay community lambasted him and his institute for the plodding pace of research on the virus.

— Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026

Definition of plodding

Verb

Summary The Chicago Cubs are currently shuffling their infield due to Dansby Swanson's oblique injury, moving Nico Hoerner to shortstop and Pedro Ramírez to second base.

— Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Keeping your eye on Bredeson is as hard as tracking a ball beneath shuffling cups.

— Alec Lewis, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of shuffling

Verb

Nothing that would actually stop a person, a child, a wheelchair or a stumbling drunk from going straight into the water.

— Joseph V. Sakran, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2026
Such a contrast to the wonderful Bootham Crescent, York’s home until 2020 and within stumbling distance of not only the famous Minster but all the city’s many other attractions.

— Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

The Sox right fielder walked on the next pitch, loading the bases with two outs in the 10th, but Tristan Peters grounded out to first to end the threat.

— LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Lucas Erceg was picked to close but was yanked for Steven Cruz after loading the bases with no outs in 14 pitches.

— PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of loading

Adjective

Balance is a game changer at any age The idea that balance is only important for wobbly seniors, however, is a stereotype.

— Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Costarring Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, and Juno Temple, Vinyl was admittedly a little wobbly in those first 10 episodes, which were propped up by compelling performances and a premise filled with potential (and mountains of cocaine).

— Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of wobbly

Adjective

As a result, New York got a great public space — and resuscitating the BQE became far more complicated and cumbersome.

— Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
Until recently, American orders were shipped from Portugal, adding delivery time, customs and duties, while making returns and exchanges more cumbersome.

— Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of cumbersome

Browse Nearby Words

lumberers

lumbering

lumberjack

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Style

“Lumbering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumbering. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of lumbering

adjective

verb

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