as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
it took two people to haul the cumbrous machine into the garage
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Recent Examples of cumbrous
There were three good reasons to abandon the Clean Power Plan, and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt cited two of them in his decision, announced Monday, to rescind the cumbrous carbon dioxide rule.
—
The Editors, National Review, 9 Oct. 2017
The Road Home Program, a state program supposed to help rebuild, was cumbrous and slow, and grants often didn’t cover the cost of repairs.
—Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2017
The Editors, National Review, 9 Oct. 2017
The Road Home Program, a state program supposed to help rebuild, was cumbrous and slow, and grants often didn’t cover the cost of repairs.
—Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cumbrous
Adjective
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Perugino’s compositions tend to be clumsy in their parallels—two people on the left, two people on the right—and the skin typically looks like candle wax.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
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The collapse of the talks wasn’t the fault of bad faith or clumsy diplomacy.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Cavaliere made headlines earlier this year by banning Chappell Roan from ever performing at the concert after the singer had an awkward encounter with the stepdaughter of Brazilian soccer player Jorginho.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is one of Washington’s enduring, if somewhat awkward, rituals.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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But the point stands that the means to make a movie—once cumbersome and expensive—now fits in the palm of your hand.—
Dennis Lim,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
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Unfortunately, clear aquarium-style cages can be heavy and cumbersome to move.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The poor equipment manager was struggling with the unwieldy block.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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The high court did not opine on the process of refunds, and government officials at first suggested the process could prove unwieldy.—
Alina Selyukh,
NPR,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In its back-to-back knottiness, the album takes on an ungainly quality that, deliberate or not, sets up roadblocks to prolonged enjoyment.—
Maxie Younger,
Pitchfork,
27 Mar. 2026
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The situation has grown so ungainly and untenable that, if Silicon Valley is merely forced to slow down, the viability of all this spending will likely be called into question in ways that could be devastating for many.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Director Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi epic remains open to many different interpretations and may seem ponderous to modern audiences.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
22 Apr. 2026
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The Government Accountability Office documented the ongoing problem in a recent report, which noted that controller attrition and the agency’s ponderous hiring procedures contribute to the long-term problem.—
Colleen Mondor,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cumbrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cumbrous. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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