PONDEROUS Synonyms: 206 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How does the adjective 'ponderous' differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of ponderous are cumbersome , cumbrous , heavy , and weighty . While all these words mean "having great weight," ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia. // ponderous elephants in a circus parade

Q: How do 'cumbrous' and 'cumbersome' relate to one another, in the sense of 'ponderous'?

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

Q: When could 'heavy' be used to replace 'ponderous'?

The synonyms heavy and ponderous are sometimes interchangeable, but heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class. // a heavy child for his age

Q: When is it sensible to use 'weighty' instead of 'ponderous'?

In some situations, the words weighty and ponderous are roughly equivalent. However, weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight. // a load of weighty boxes

ponderous

adjective

ˈpän-d(ə-)rəs

Definition of ponderous next

as in boring

causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest fell asleep during the ponderous speech

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in massive

having great weight those ponderous pachyderms more commonly known as elephants

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in clumsy

difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design lugged a ponderous movie camera all over China

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective ponderous differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of ponderous are cumbersome, cumbrous, heavy, and weighty. While all these words mean "having great weight," ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

How do cumbrous and cumbersome relate to one another, in the sense of ponderous?

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 could heavy be used to replace ponderous?

The synonyms heavy and ponderous are sometimes interchangeable, but heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

When is it sensible to use weighty instead of ponderous?

In some situations, the words weighty and ponderous are roughly equivalent. However, weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

Examples 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 ponderous All three movies in West’s X trilogy basically deliver on that front, even the slightly ponderous Pearl, which featured fewer murders and more tearful monologues by Goth. —

David Sims, The Atlantic, 2 July 2024 The show could be ponderous, at times, less interested in a real mystery than general mysteriousness. —

Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 15 May 2024 Many today might dismiss Richelieu’s brand of leadership as archaic, something with little relevance to the far more ponderous process of modern statecraft, with its armies of bureaucratic functionaries analyzing all policy options in mind-numbing detail. —

David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012 Prizing succinct song form and immediate melody, the Raspberries stood in contrast to the shaggy jams and ponderous prog that littered the rock landscape in the early 1970s. —

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ponderous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous

Adjective

Most of this long flashback segment is pretty boring, though.

Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Toyota and Honda have at times been called boring: Honda by its own engineers, Toyota more famously by a chairman descended from the company’s founder.

Robert Ferris, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024