cumbersome

[kuhm-ber-suh m]

See more synonyms for cumbersome on Thesaurus.com

adjective

burdensome; troublesome.
unwieldy; clumsy.

Origin of cumbersome

First recorded in 1325–75, cumbersome is from the Middle English word cummyrsum. See cumber, -some¹

Related formscum·ber·some·ly, adverbcum·ber·some·ness, noun

Synonyms

See more synonyms for cumbersome on Thesaurus.com

1. heavy, weighty, onerous. 2. awkward.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cumbersome

Contemporary Examples

“The process of getting the approval is too slow and is too cumbersome,” Rogers said.
ISIS Fight Has a Spy Shortage, Intel Chair Says
Kimberly Dozier
January 2, 2015
Cunningham was blown away by HyperCard when he first saw it, but he found it cumbersome.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story
Walter Isaacson
October 19, 2014
But the technology, while powerful, is cumbersome and takes anywhere from 12 hours to four days to yield a result.
This New Ebola Test Is As Easy As a Pregnancy Test, So Why Aren’t We Using It?
Abby Haglage
October 3, 2014
Making ice cream was cumbersome, too, so for a long time only the elite could afford to eat it.
An Investigation Into the Delicious Origins of Ice Cream
Andrew Romano
July 13, 2014
Second, the dismissal process for ineffective teachers is so cumbersome and costly that it rarely works as it should.
Vergara v. California: The Most Important Court Case You’ve Never Heard Of
Campbell Brown
May 29, 2014

Historical Examples

"I shall be travelling faster than your cumbersome safari," he objected.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
Now the aloe, you know, is of a cumbersome height for a supper ornament.
Tales And Novels, Volume 3 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
She pushed the cumbersome baby-carriage with no apparent effort.
The Yates Pride
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
Norman found that while cumbersome their oxygen supply was unfailing.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various
Dancing seized the cumbersome chest and dragged it out of danger.
The Mountain Divide
Frank H. Spearman

British Dictionary definitions for cumbersome

cumbersome

cumbrous (ˈkʌmbrəs)

adjective

awkward because of size, weight, or shapecumbersome baggage
difficult because of extent or complexitycumbersome accounts

Derived Formscumbersomely or cumbrously, adverbcumbersomeness or cumbrousness, noun

Word Origin

C14: cumber, short for encumber + -some 1

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

Word Origin and History for cumbersome

adj.

late 14c., from cumber (v.) + -some (1). Meaning "unwieldy, hard to carry" is from 1590s. Related: Cumbersomely; cumbersomeness.

cumbersome

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}cumbersome

Synonyms

Examples from the Web for cumbersome

Contemporary Examples

“The process of getting the approval is too slow and is too cumbersome,” Rogers said.

Cunningham was blown away by HyperCard when he first saw it, but he found it cumbersome.

But the technology, while powerful, is cumbersome and takes anywhere from 12 hours to four days to yield a result.

Making ice cream was cumbersome, too, so for a long time only the elite could afford to eat it.

Second, the dismissal process for ineffective teachers is so cumbersome and costly that it rarely works as it should.

Historical Examples

"I shall be travelling faster than your cumbersome safari," he objected.

Now the aloe, you know, is of a cumbersome height for a supper ornament.

She pushed the cumbersome baby-carriage with no apparent effort.

Norman found that while cumbersome their oxygen supply was unfailing.

Dancing seized the cumbersome chest and dragged it out of danger.

cumbersome

cumbrous (ˈkʌmbrəs)

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for cumbersome

adj.

Origin of cumbersome