ponderous
[pon-der-uhs]
- of great weight; heavy; massive.
- awkward or unwieldy: He carried a ponderous burden on his back.
- dull and labored: a ponderous dissertation.
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Origin of ponderous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
bulkyclumsyweightyawkwardunwieldymonotonousstodgystuffylaboredstiltedploddingburdensomedullelephantinegracelessheftyhugelaboriouslifelesslumberingExamples from the Web for ponderous
Contemporary Examples
It was a ponderous labyrinth of bolts, locks, and steel doors, making it an almost impregnable fortress.
Archer plays the lead in a ponderous but thoughtful one-act play penned by her husband, Terry Jastrow.
In “Dirty 30,” there are no ponderous attempts to chart the entire history of the crisis in order to set the scene.
No ponderous adult consideration is possible–rather, adolescent snickering prevails.
Yet even his staffers acknowledge he is a wooden candidate, a result of a long career in the ponderous halls of the House.
Gomez or Go Home: The Massachusetts Senate Race Is Down to the Wire—and It Matters Big TimeDavid Freedlander
June 21, 2013
Historical Examples
The man who faced the redhead was as light as his companion was ponderous.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
Andy could see now that it was a roadster, low-hung, ponderous, to keep the road.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
For he was ponderous, spiritually and mentally, as well as materially.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
They made way for the man and his ponderous keys, and entrance to the college was gained.
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
Princes of the blood royal had sat in the ponderous carved oak-chairs.
Henry DunbarM. E. Braddon
ponderous
- of great weight; heavy; huge
- (esp of movement) lacking ease or lightness; awkward, lumbering, or graceless
- dull or laboriousa ponderous oration
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Word Origin
C14: from Latin ponderōsus of great weight, from pondus weight
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for ponderous
adj.
c.1400, "thick;" early 15c., "heavy, weighty, clumsy," from Latin ponderosus "of great weight; full of meaning," from pondus (genitive ponderis) "weight" (see pound (n.1)). Meaning "tedious" is first recorded 1704. Related: Ponderously; ponderousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper