Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

weighty

American  
[wey-tee] / ˈweɪ ti /

adjective

weightier, weightiest
  1. having considerable weight; heavy; ponderous.

    a weighty bundle.

    Antonyms:
    light
  2. burdensome or troublesome.

    the weightier cares of sovereignty.

  3. important or momentous.

    weighty negotiations.

    Synonyms:
    consequential, grave, serious, significant
    Antonyms:
    unimportant, light
  4. having or exerting influence, power, etc.; influential.

    a weighty merchant of Boston.


weighty British  
/ ˈweɪtɪ /

adjective

  1. having great weight

  2. important or momentous

  3. causing anxiety or worry

"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

Synonym Usage

See heavy.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of weighty

First recorded in 1480–90; see origin at weight, -y 1

Explanation

Weighty things are either very heavy or extremely important and worrisome. Putting your weighty cat on a diet might be a weighty issue that nags at you. If your luggage is too weighty, you'll have to pay an extra fee at the airport. And if you've got a mind full of weighty problems, you won't be able to fall asleep on your long flight. Sometimes this adjective is also used to mean "influential," like the weighty influence your SAT scores might have on your chances of being accepted at a competitive college.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing weighty

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.

The last endorsement was especially weighty coming from a winner of the Fields Medal, one of the highest honors for human mathematicians.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is the headline speaker at Asia's premier defence summit opening Friday, but China's top officials aren't expected despite weighty questions like Taiwan and the war in Iran.

From Barron's • May 29, 2026

Renting first provides an opportunity to get reliable referrals and gain a better understanding of how the system works before making such a weighty decision.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

Makhmudov is a big, weighty, strong guy and he needs to use that.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

The door slammed and, as if a weighty problem had been lifted from her, Miss Trixie fell into a juvenile slumber.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "weighty" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com