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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
  • Historians often describe Flammarion more as a popularizer than a serious scientist, but this should not diminish his accomplishments.
    Matthew Shindell, Space.com, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • Burch said an important part of helping someone experiencing intimate partner violence is to give them back their sense of power and control.
    Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 6 July 2025
  • In our highly partisan political moment, civics education is perhaps more important than ever.
    John Fund, National Review, 6 July 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
  • There have been 50 major model releases in just the first six months of 2025, with lots of different sizes, features, and use cases (see the table below).
    Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • The tour marks Ballerini’s first visit to Australia in seven years, and follows her major U.S. arena tour supporting her 2024 album PATTERNS.
    Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 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
  • As the bow and stern sections tore free from one another, the ship’s contents were ejected and rained down across the ocean floor, dispersing everything from luggage and dinnerware to engine parts and personal belongings.
    Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 6 July 2025
  • Len, that character of a stern Englishman with a twinkle in his eye, felt like the core of what the show was.
    EW.com, EW.com, 5 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Weighty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weighty. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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