cumbersome

adjective

cum·ber·some ˈkəm-bər-səm

Synonyms of cumbersome next

: unwieldy because of heaviness and bulk

a cumbersome package

: slow-moving : ponderous

cumbersome administrative procedures

dialect : burdensome, troublesome

cumbersomely adverb

cumbersomeness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for cumbersome

heavy, weighty, ponderous, cumbrous, cumbersome mean having great weight.

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

Examples of cumbersome in a Sentence

Squad members, already decked out in cumbersome chemical suits, put on masks and rubber gloves. —

Ray Wilkinson, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 1991

He 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. 1989

He 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 Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

What to Consider The zipper doesn’t run the length of the sleeping bag, which helps with heat retention but makes getting in and out a bit more cumbersome. —

Kevin Brouillard, Travel + Leisure, 4 Nov. 2024 The more cumbersome way is for whoever is doing the filing to accumulate all HOA director's and officer's addresses and images of their identifying documents (again, driver's license or passport) and manually enter it. —

Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024 This mattress also wasn’t as responsive as other options, which made moving around a bit cumbersome. —

Macy Alcido, Architectural Digest, 31 Oct. 2024 The process of generating a card number was cumbersome, and most consumers didn't bother to use it. —

Felix Salmon, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cumbersome