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 were uncharacteristically ponderous—even philosophical—attempts by journalists to understand the watch. —

Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2024 The Room Next Door is an alternately rapturous and ponderous meditation on mortality, though in a very Almodóvarian fashion, that exploration comes by way of a fantasy of set directing one’s own death, down to the moment, location, and outfit worn. —

Alison Willmore, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2024 Clint Mansell’s score is the driving force behind this ponderous movie’s mysterious aura, with a pair of unlikely collaborators that reflect the movie’s tonal soup. —

Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 14 Aug. 2024 The world is not likely to see a return to the large-scale, ponderous, and protocol-heavy diplomacy of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogues of the past, no matter how productive Biden and Xi’s conversation is. —

Danny Russel, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2021 See all Example Sentences for ponderous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ponderous

Adjective

But to play to that dichotomy is a tightrope walk: lean too far one way and Indy becomes boring, either as too normal or a superhero.

Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 10 Dec. 2024
Eggnog Eggnog is a hard sell because most people have only had the bad kind, those boring and occasionally gross cartons that line the dairy section of the supermarket every December.

Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 9 Dec. 2024