heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.
a heavy child for his age
weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.
a load of weighty boxes
ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.
ponderous elephants in a circus parade
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
Example Sentences
Squad members, already decked out in cumbersome chemical suits, put on masks and rubber gloves. Ray Wilkinson, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 1991He got the approval of the higher-ups, but the course was scuttled by members of his own department, who devised all kinds of cumbersome, silly requirements and prerequisites. Alice Munro, New Yorker, 20 Mar. 1989He cut some segments of the 2" pine but discovered that … a cumbersome system of braces would be needed to hold the sides straight. John Updike, Couples, 1968 The application process is cumbersome and time-consuming. Her expanded job title is really cumbersome.
Recent Examples on the WebThe wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 5 Sep. 2022 Government action is seen as a slow, cumbersome, and blunt tool–a boulder thrown into the otherwise smooth waters of market efficiency. Denise Hearn, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2022 Processes may be perceived as bureaucracy, but in my experience, it is only called that when processes are cumbersome, complicated and unpredictable in regard to outcomes. Norma Watenpaugh, Forbes, 18 July 2022 But the legal process is cumbersome, expensive and long drawn. Diksha Madhok, CNN, 6 July 2022 Every city in Arizona’s NDO has processes that are cumbersome, lengthy and difficult to navigate and enforce. Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 5 July 2022 Today, a new wave of false eyelashes offers an alternative to the bigger-is-better mentality: faux fringe that’s ultrarealistic, less cumbersome to wear and expressly intended to be gender-fluid.New York Times, 5 Apr. 2022 Despite having a 22 percent larger screen than its predecessor, Lenovo's 16-inch ThinkPad X1 Fold didn't feel much more cumbersome to carry. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 1 Sep. 2022 Should restaurants continue using a technology that diners loathe, or revert to the more cumbersome option? Danielle Wiener-bronner, CNN, 20 Aug. 2022 See More