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as in influential
having power over the minds or behavior of others one of the weightiest figures in the field of pediatric medicine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective weighty differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of weighty are cumbersome, cumbrous, heavy, and ponderous. While all these words mean "having great weight," weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

How are the words cumbrous and cumbersome related as synonyms of weighty?

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 can heavy be used instead of weighty?

In some situations, the words heavy and weighty are roughly equivalent. However, heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

When might ponderous be a better fit than weighty?

The synonyms ponderous and weighty are sometimes interchangeable, but ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

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 weighty Mixed attendance, no bombshells leave GOP with an echo chamber Despite the weighty subject matter, the hearing was sparsely attended and lacked the star witnesses or headline-making moments typical of high-profile Judiciary hearings. Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 18 June 2025 This is a pen that is both weighty and lighthearted – fitting for the home of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, whose life of bonhomie and good cheer was disrupted by adventure and dragons and ring wraiths and war. Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025 Lead with humor Talking about weighty topics can be overwhelming for dads who don’t share a lot. Angela Haupt, Time, 11 June 2025 Its aesthetic approach seldom lives up to its gestures toward camp as a guiding principle or its weighty themes (except, perhaps, in its surprisingly raucous final act). Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 10 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for weighty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weighty
Adjective
  • Some 182 people with serious mental illness in the city jails are waiting for one of those beds, city correction officials said Thursday.
    Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 29 June 2025
  • So far, the project has helped some counties reduce their administrative separation populations by up to 90% through limiting isolation to cases of recent violence and banning the use of restrictive housing for people with serious mental illness.
    Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • The Ability To Respond, Not React There are many important skills that top-notch leaders have in common, such as emotional intelligence, active listening, vision and so on.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
  • Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year.
    Louryn Strampe, Wired News, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • Washington’s foreign aid cuts could lead to an additional 14 million deaths by 2030 as countries scramble to make up for the sudden, massive shortfall.
    Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 1 July 2025
  • In October 2022, BTS performed a massive free concert, titled Yet to Come, in Busan, South Korea.
    Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • In the procedural drama, Rodríguez brings to life a multi-layered and solemn character shaped by a traumatic childhood — abused within the foster care system, with no knowledge of his origins, and struggling with severe dyslexia.
    Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
  • This protection -- known as the seal of confession -- is among the oldest and most solemn obligations in the Catholic Church, grounded in the Church’s teaching that, in the sacrament, penitents are confidentially confessing to and receiving forgiveness from God.
    Hiram Sasser, National Review, 15 June 2025
Adjective
  • All of this is to say: fitness is the biggest influential player for the Dutch.
    Megan Feringa, New York Times, 28 June 2025
  • Involve influential stakeholders right from the start.
    Apurva Wadodkar, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Adjective
  • April 2025 The Six of Swords: There is major transition and movement afoot for you this month, Libra.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
  • In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is up 6.7%, and in Asia, most major markets are in positive territory, with Hong Kong and South Korea posting a whopping 20% gain year to date.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • Make sure the soil at the planting site drains within one hour following heavy rain, as peach trees do not tolerate soggy soil.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
  • The heavy rain has ended and while flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat, area creeks and streams may remain elevated.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • However, strikes between the two nations appeared to continue—leading to a stern rebuke from the president on Tuesday morning.
    Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
  • Born in Philadelphia in October 1888, Breen shuttled between jobs in public relations, newspaper journalism, and the U.S. consular service, yet the connecting thread was always his deep, proud, stern Irish Catholicism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Weighty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weighty. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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