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

The pinniped pup looked around quizzically with large, black eyes before lumbering into the surf with abandon — as only the young can. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 The public notice was seen as an important and logical step in the long and lumbering process of monitoring and potentially regulating the most powerful technology the world has ever seen. — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 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

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

The filmmaker has likened his perspective in this project to that of Dorothy’s dog Toto in The Wizard of Oz, alert to the shuffling feet beneath the curtain rather than being bamboozled by the shyster title character’s techno showmanship.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Not much else changed in Class 5A, besides Azle and Arlington Seguin shuffling down two spots with Week 2 losses.

— Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of shuffling

Verb

Ian informs the sisters that Kylie isn’t merely stumbling into arcane rituals; someone is drawing her to the dark side.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 11 Sep. 2026
Unlike other festivals, where audiences can be more forgiving, stumbling out of the gate at Venice can prove impossible for a contender to recover from.

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

And his big-game jitters were reflected in the first inning of what was eventually a 1-0 loss, when his shaky command led to him loading the bases with two outs.

— Jesús Cano, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Now, Stanford was loading the box most of Friday night in an attempt to eliminate the run game.

— Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of loading

Adjective

These spectacular edible creations push the wobbly confection to its limits.

— Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026
King drops elephants through the air, erects wobbly Towers of Babel, lets characters run amok with depictions of her own pencils, and then summons a hand with a knife to clear a clean space on the page.

— Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of wobbly

Adjective

The 2019 Speedster followed in a long line of roofless performers dating back to the earliest days of the company, but that machine made do with a cumbersome fabric top that took minutes to manually attach.

— Tim Stevens, Robb Report, 14 Sep. 2026
But the situation remains murky and operations are cumbersome, with rescuers digging by hand.

— Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 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 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of lumbering

adjective

verb

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