Synonyms of weighty

weighty

adjective

ˈwā-tē 

1

as in serious

having a matter of importance as its topic

interrupted a weighty discussion with a silly question

Synonyms & Similar Words

• serious
• important
• big
• heavy
• meaningful
• major
• grave
• substantial
• significant
• solid
• momentous
• portentous
• consequential
• eventful
• material

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• small
• little
• trivial
• minor
• slight
• frivolous
• unimportant
• insignificant
• silly
• unserious
• Mickey Mouse
• lite

2

as in important

having great meaning or lasting effect

choosing a college is a weighty decision

Synonyms & Similar Words

• important
• major
• significant
• historic
• big
• substantial
• monumental
• meaningful
• tectonic
• much
• momentous
• exceptional
• distinguished
• consequential
• eventful
• earthshaking
• material
• earth-shattering
• pivotal
• remarkable
• decisive
• outstanding
• distinctive
• serious
• seminal
• strategic
• notable
• noteworthy
• prominent
• worthy
• impressive
• valuable
• great
• fatal
• earnest
• fateful
• crucial
• heavy
• sincere
• eminent
• grave
• worthwhile
• illustrious
• famous
• key
• prestigious
• central
• critical
• noble
• essential
• all-important
• renowned
• notorious
• vital
• preeminent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• small
• little
• trivial
• minor
• trifling
• unimportant
• slight
• negligible
• insignificant
• inconsequential
• inconsiderable
• petty
• worthless
• paltry
• obscure
• unknown
• anonymous
• nameless
• uncelebrated

3

as in massive

having great weight

lifted the weighty sack and wondered what was in it

Synonyms & Similar Words

• massive
• heavy
• hefty
• ponderous
• burdensome
• voluminous
• substantial
• bulky
• leaden
• elephantine
• solid
• massy
• outsize
• overweight
• lumpish
• top-heavy
• ultraheavy

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• light
• weightless
• fluffy
• feathery
• airy
• insubstantial
• ethereal
• slight
• flimsy
• gossamer
• lightweight
• undersized
• underweight
• gossamery
• ultralight
• ultralightweight

4

as in solemn

not joking or playful in mood or manner

the police office looked at me with a rather weighty expression

Synonyms & Similar Words

• solemn
• serious
• stern
• earnest
• unsmiling
• severe
• harsh
• humorless
• professional
• distinguished
• sedate
• sober
• grave
• staid
• po-faced
• no-nonsense
• strict
• uncomic
• sobersided
• grim
• businesslike
• dignified
• gloomy
• serious-minded
• elevated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• humorous
• playful
• flippant
• light
• jocular
• facetious
• ridiculous
• flip
• ludic
• comical
• kittenish
• joking
• funny
• ludicrous
• riotous
• droll
• comic
• farcical
• hilarious
• uproarious
• hysterical
• frivolous
• laughable
• risible
• antic
• lighthearted
• puerile
• goofy
• jesting
• flighty
• screaming
• absurd
• silly
• foolish
• preposterous
• scatterbrained
• fatuous
• nutty
• unwise
• zany
• harebrained
• insane
• nonsensical
• sidesplitting
• balmy
• jerky
• sappy
• wacky
• senseless
• mad
• crazy
• kooky
• asinine
• light-headed
• daffy
• loony
• cockeyed
• witless
• daft
• cuckoo
• brainless
• featherbrained
• dotty
• screwball
• weak-minded
• half-witted

5

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

• influential
• authoritative
• important
• dominant
• forceful
• cogent
• predominant
• eminent
• momentous
• dominating
• controlling
• supreme
• sovereign
• masterful
• regnant

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• weak
• helpless
• powerless
• unable
• impotent
• incapable

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

Recent Examples of weighty

Yet despite her weighty subject, the filmmaker approached her craft with levity. —Ben Croll, Variety, 21 Jan. 2026

It’s best listened to in headphones good enough to reveal the many subtle nuances of the sound design and to also emphasize the punchier, weightier moments, including Skrillex’s own singing. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 16 Jan. 2026

On-site restaurant Montagu is inspired by his dining room, and the Art Deco Churchill Bar & Terrace is lined with weighty history books curated by London's beloved Daunts Books, and love letters sent between Churchill and his wife Clementine. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Jan. 2026

The Supreme Court heard arguments on that weighty question last month and is now working on its opinion. —Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 11 Jan. 2026