1
as in boring
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest
fell asleep during the ponderous speech
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in massive
having great weight
those ponderous pachyderms more commonly known as elephants
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3
as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
lugged a ponderous movie camera all over China
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ponderous
The sculpture, unveiled by the artist Eric Fischl in 2000 and titled Soul in Flight, is worth pausing to look at, for its instructive power and its indictment of the ponderous slabs of metallurgical debris that litter other stadiums and arenas.
—
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Much of the show is given to ponderous historical segues.
—Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
There’s no long-winded exposition, no ponderous articulation of the themes, and no punches pulled.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
Yes, Invasion has received mixed reviews for its ponderous pacing (especially in the first season).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 30 Aug. 2025
Much of the show is given to ponderous historical segues.
—Ruby Tandoh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
There’s no long-winded exposition, no ponderous articulation of the themes, and no punches pulled.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
Yes, Invasion has received mixed reviews for its ponderous pacing (especially in the first season).
—Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ponderous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous
Adjective
-
Though the pacing and breadth of the episode ensure that things never get boring, not all the stories are equally compelling.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Klum doesn't want to let anyone down by choosing the boring or easy way out with a costume.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Landry, who charged LSU’s board of supervisors with leading the search for a new football coach, expressed dissatisfaction with the massive contract that Woodward had given Kelly, which included a buyout for as much as $53 million.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
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When Rubenstein asked whether the massive market capitalizations of major tech firms, some nearing $5 trillion, signal a potential bubble, Solomon offered a historical perspective.—
Sheryl Estrada,
Fortune,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
What resulted is one of the most comic, counterproductive, and clumsy episodes in the long history of British efforts to deal with Ireland.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
-
So, how did Musk go from a champion of the internet’s go-to reference resource to this clumsy attempt at killing it?—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Tiles also exhibited hysteresis, which was smaller at slower speeds due to the rubber’s viscoelastic properties, as reported by Nanowerk.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Levi, an electrical engineer who founded MicroKits in 2020, has had to raise prices, slow production and pause plans to launch a new product – Banan-a-Synth – that lets kids turn a bunch of bananas into a kind of keyboard.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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If growth stabilizes into early 2026, the back end may prove stickier, creating mild steepening constructive for financials (net-interest margins) and for cyclicals with heavy short-term funding needs.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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Use the bottom of a heavy glass or measuring cup to smash carrots, without breaking them, to about 1/2-inch thickness.—
Madalyn Bendgen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Insert one very awkward stalemate between the pair here.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
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Lisa Frankenstein centers on awkward and antisocial high schooler Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) after the violent demise of her mother.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But Braun was solid before tiring and working through injuries that affected him on the ball over the final month last season.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
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Instead of a chance to flex their goalscoring muscles, United had to grit their teeth and see out a gruelling, tense, tiring second half.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So any expansion to what is already a very archaic, cumbersome system will be very hard on small business owners in Michigan.—
Keith Matheny,
Freep.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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However, with cloud environments constantly evolving, manually checking each requirement quickly becomes cumbersome.—
Daniel Fusch,
Ascend Agency,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ponderous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ponderous. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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