adjective
-
of great weight; heavy; huge
-
(esp of movement) lacking ease or lightness; awkward, lumbering, or graceless
-
dull or laborious
a ponderous oration
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ponderous
1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French ponderos, pondereuse ) < Latin ponderōsus. See ponder, -ous
Explanation
When you call Frankenstein's monster ponderous, it's not because he likes to ponder the great questions of life. It's because he moves like a Mack truck, only slower and less gracefully. Ponderous also describes a person's manner, or their manner of speaking. If it does, this is a person you will want to avoid. They're solemn, speak slowly about things that are boring, and get to the punchline of a joke about seven years after anyone with half a brain has figured it out for themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing ponderous
Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Mythology
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ponderous, no speed, no penetration- I miss the first-20-min-onslaught approach of '13/'14.
From The Guardian • Aug. 9, 2015
Ponderous, no speed, no penetration- I miss the first-20-min-onslaught approach of '13/'14.
From The Guardian • Aug. 9, 2015
Ponderous and humorless, he travels the country by airliner and rented cars to confront an electorate that does not care.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ponderous and muddy though Koerner's art can be, it has all the weight and bite of a steam shovel.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ponderous logging trucks rumbled through town on Highway 41 night and day on their way to the mills in Aberdeen.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
