ponderous
adjective
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The Serious History of Ponderous
Ponderous is ultimately from the Latin word for "weight," namely, "pondus" (which also gave us "ponder" and "preponderance" and is related to "pound"). We adopted "ponderous" with the literal sense "heavy" from Anglo-French ponderus in the 15th century, and early on we appended a figurative sense of "weighty," that is, "serious" or "important." But we stopped using the "serious" sense of "ponderous" around 200 years ago - perhaps because in the meantime we'd imposed on it a different figurative sense of "dull and lifeless," which we still use today.
Synonyms
- arid
- boring
- colorless
- drab
- dreary
- drudging
- dry
- dull
- dusty
- flat
- heavy
- ho-hum
- humdrum
- jading
- jejune
- leaden
- mind-numbing
- monochromatic
- monotonous
- numbing
- old
- pedestrian
- slow
- stale
- stodgy
- stuffy
- stupid
- tame
- tedious
- tiresome
- tiring
- uninteresting
- wearisome
- weary
- wearying
Example Sentences
WSJ, 1 Sep. 2022 Riders have paid the price for that indifference: millions of minutes lost to longer travel time, disruptions from derailments and other unexpected breakdowns, and ponderous shuttle service when the rails increasingly go out of commission. Elizabeth Koh, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2022 The agency has long been criticized as too ponderous, focusing on collection and analysis of data but not acting quickly against new health threats. CBS News, 17 Aug. 2022 The agency has long been criticized as too ponderous, focusing on collection and analysis of data but not acting quickly against new health threats. Mike Stobbe, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 2022 The agency has long been criticized as too ponderous, focusing on collection and analysis of data but not acting quickly against new health threats. Mike Stobbe, Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2022 The agency has long been criticized as too ponderous, focusing on collection and analysis of data but not acting quickly against new health threats. Mike Stobbe, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 The data comes in at a ponderous couple of megabits per second (Mbps). Jamie Carter, Forbes, 18 July 2022 On a Thursday morning with ponderous clouds and rumbling thunder, our group boarded the Barbara Ann II from Crisfield. Andrea Sachs, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from Anglo-French ponderus, from Latin ponderosus, from ponder-, pondus weight
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
ponderous
adjective
ponderous
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- boring
- slow
- tiring
- wearying
- stupid
- weary
- dull
- heavy
- old
- dusty
- annoying
- tedious
- pedestrian
- dry
- leaden
- stodgy
- monotonous
- tiresome
- irritating
- uninteresting
- tame
- wearisome
- humdrum
- dreary
- drab
- drudging
- arid
- jejune
- stuffy
- colorless
- numbing
- pallid
- monochromatic
- stale
- mind-numbing
- exhausting
- prosy
- ho-hum
- flat
- sterile
- prosaic
- jading
- spiritless
- irksome
- blah
- unimaginative
- dullish
- barren
- gray
- earthbound
- unexciting
- blank
- undramatic
- pedantic
- unspectacular
- unsensational
- uninspiring
- soggy
- draining
- uneventful
- unrewarding
- inanimate
- cumbersome
- fatiguing
- enervating
- bothersome
- plodding
- aseptic
- vapid
- lumbering
- grey
- discouraging
- debilitating
- ordinary
- dispiriting
- suspenseless
- tepid
- common
- unsurprising
- pokey
- unexceptional
- enfeebling
- poky
- commonplace
- pleasureless
- demoralizing
- palling
- wearing
- unnewsworthy
- longsome
- disheartening
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- interesting
- intriguing
- engrossing
- marvellous
- involving
- riveting
- surprising
- wondrous
- wonderful
- engaging
- marvelous
- gripping
- spectacular
- astonishing
- absorbing
- amusing
- astounding
- exciting
- amazing
- exhilarating
- sensational
- awesome
- inspiring
- entertaining
- thrilling
- poignant
- breathtaking
- fabulous
- rousing
- stimulating
- stirring
- electrifying
- fascinating
- charming
- animating
- energizing
- galvanizing
- moving
- attractive
- alluring
- beguiling
- enthralling
- enlivening
- invigorating
- enchanting
- diverting
- touching
- entrancing
- rip-roaring
- bewitching
- eye-opening
- provocative
- hair-raising
- suspenseful
- spellbinding
- attracting
- tantalizing
- captivating
- mesmerizing
- arresting
Synonyms & Similar Words
- heavy
- massive
- weighty
- hefty
- leaden
- voluminous
- lumpish
- bulky
- burdensome
- massy
- elephantine
- substantial
- solid
- outsize
- outsized
- top-heavy
- overweight
- ultraheavy
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- light
- weightless
- fluffy
- feathery
- ethereal
- flimsy
- airy
- gossamer
- insubstantial
- slight
- lightweight
- undersized
- undersize
- gossamery
- underweight
- ultralight
- ultralightweight
Synonyms & Similar Words
- clumsy
- awkward
- unwieldy
- cumbersome
- ungainly
- clunky
- cumbrous
- heavy
- unhandy
- cranky
- massive
- bulky
- impractical
- unmanageable
- elephantine
- bunglesome
- hulking
- uncontrollable
- dinosauric
- impracticable
- dinosaurian
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- practical
- useful
- functional
- handy
- practicable
- serviceable
Synonym Chooser
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.
Both cumbrous and cumbersome imply heaviness and bulkiness that make for difficulty in grasping, moving, carrying, or manipulating.
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.
In some situations, the words weighty and ponderous are roughly equivalent. However, weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.