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.
Asked about the characterization of European initiatives to boost growth as slow and ponderous, Lancastle argues this is no longer valid.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 16, 2026
Liverpool were slow, ponderous and lacking in ideas.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
Some of the biggest obstacles facing Germany’s military planners are intangible: ponderous procurement rules, onerous data protection laws, and other regulations forged in a more peaceful era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Despite Chelsea's territorial dominance, their fans began to grow frustrated at their ponderous passing and failure to put Wolves to the sword.
From Barron's ● Nov. 8, 2025
The revolution had been slow and ponderous, but it had weight, and that weight built up a momentum, and when that momentum finally broke forth, it was with a great and accumulated force.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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.
