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.
Writing in The Times, Beard bemoaned that the poem's "erotic puzzles, the teasing ironies, the intriguing questions about truth and falsehood" had been replaced with "a rather ponderous Hollywood message about civilisational decline".
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Its monolithic character has caused some to call it Brutalist, although it lacks the ponderous dignity of Cold War Brutalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
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about the characterization of European initiatives to boost growth as slow and ponderous, Lancastle argues this is no longer valid.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
He dropped to the floor of the boat with ponderous ease.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
