ponderous

[ pon-der-uhs ]
See synonyms for ponderous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of great weight; heavy; massive.

  2. awkward or unwieldy: He carried a ponderous burden on his back.

  1. dull and labored: a ponderous dissertation.

Origin of ponderous

1
1375–1425; late Middle English (<Middle French ponderos, pondereuse) <Latin ponderōsus.See ponder, -ous

Other words for ponderous

Opposites for ponderous

Other words from ponderous

  • pon·der·ous·ly, adverb
  • pon·der·ous·ness, pon·der·os·i·ty [pon-duh-ros-i-tee], /ˌpɒn dəˈrɒs ɪ ti/, noun
  • non·pon·der·os·i·ty, noun
  • non·pon·der·ous, adjective
  • non·pon·der·ous·ly, adverb
  • non·pon·der·ous·ness, noun
  • o·ver·pon·der·ous, adjective
  • o·ver·pon·der·ous·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·pon·der·ous·ness, noun
  • un·pon·der·ous, adjective
  • un·pon·der·ous·ly, adverb
  • un·pon·der·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ponderous in a sentence

  • David Saunderson was the embodiment of ponderousness; he spoke as slowly as he moved his cumbersome limbs.

    War-time Silhouettes | Stephen Hudson
  • He moved in the cotillon or waltz with a certain elephantine ponderousness and sagacity.

    Round the Block | John Bell Bouton
  • He believed that ponderousness and extension were qualities indispensable to eloquence.

    The Torrent | Vicente Blasco Ibaez
  • The towering closeness of these on each hand, their impenetrability, and their ponderousness, are felt as a physical pressure.

  • It has not the didactic ponderousness of Odos writing, but its language is clumsy.

British Dictionary definitions for ponderous

ponderous

/ (ˈpɒndərəs) /


adjective
  1. of great weight; heavy; huge

  2. (esp of movement) lacking ease or lightness; awkward, lumbering, or graceless

  1. dull or laborious: a ponderous oration

Origin of ponderous

1
C14: from Latin ponderōsus of great weight, from pondus weight

Derived forms of ponderous

  • ponderously, adverb
  • ponderousness or ponderosity (ˌpɒndəˈrɒsɪtɪ), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012