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 ordinary secular mode of divorce in India is, like any other Indian legal proceeding, rather more cumbrous.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 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
The ordinary secular mode of divorce in India is, like any other Indian legal proceeding, rather more cumbrous.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cumbrous
Adjective
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Dream plays are difficult to execute—whimsy is easily crushed by clumsy handling.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
25 July 2025
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Despite a clumsy apology tour, Hogan was never able to completely shake his darkest moment.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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The house was a little awkward and needed some work, including in the living room, which had a mix of original wood flooring and vinyl.—
Thomas Fuller,
New York Times,
24 July 2025
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Once Mercury goes direct on Aug. 11, the awkward conversations or delays with friends or teammates start to smooth out.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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Developers have complained for years that the city’s cumbersome construction permitting process takes far too long, adding costs to projects.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
22 July 2025
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The best thing of all are the performances of early American folk songs that the two men record on cumbersome equipment.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
21 July 2025
Adjective
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Even the misstep of Top Secret! yielded its share of laughs, despite attempting to hit an unwieldy jumble of parody targets.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
30 July 2025
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Compounding those rising expenses for pet owners can be a deterioration in financial stability, including unwieldy debt burdens, an unexpected (human or animal) medical event, or a job loss.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Adjective
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The official title is technically F1®: The Movie, an ungainly, trademarked reminder of both the brand the film was made in conjunction with, and the fact that that brand is so big that this $200-300 million Hollywood production is a blip in comparison.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.—
Sonya Bennett-Brandt,
AFAR Media,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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But inaction might make Trump look weak and ponderous.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
19 June 2025
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And the movie has a real sweetness and sincerity to it, determined to give family audiences a superhero flick that’s not all ponderous brooding and dark origin stories.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cumbrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cumbrous. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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