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as in influential
having power over the minds or behavior of others one of the weightiest figures in the field of pediatric medicine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective weighty differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of weighty are cumbersome, cumbrous, heavy, and ponderous. While all these words mean "having great weight," weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

How are the words cumbrous and cumbersome related as synonyms of weighty?

Both cumbrous and cumbersome imply heaviness and bulkiness that make for difficulty in grasping, moving, carrying, or manipulating.

wrestled with the cumbrous furniture
early cameras were cumbersome and inconvenient

When can heavy be used instead of weighty?

In some situations, the words heavy and weighty are roughly equivalent. However, heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

When might ponderous be a better fit than weighty?

The synonyms ponderous and weighty are sometimes interchangeable, but ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of weighty However, John Prevost offered some insight into how his younger likes to take a break from weighty ecclesiastical issues when the two get a chance to talk. Matthew Carey, Deadline, 9 May 2025 Although the Polestar 4 feels reasonably weighty like the rest of the range, there’s something reassuring about this solidity. Trinity Francis, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025 The never-ending hurry-up-and-waits are why he’s always got a couple weighty tomes stacked in his lap, his taste running from big-cheese biographies (of Elia Kazan and Abraham Lincoln, among others) to bestsellers, including Conclave. Phoebe Eaton, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2025 But the City Council vote remains a weighty decision and a permanent one, too, Gibson said. Molly Morrow, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for weighty
Recent Examples of Synonyms for weighty
Adjective
  • Nobody else can do what Isak does, but Newcastle lack serious backup at centre-forward.
    Chris Waugh, New York Times, 6 June 2025
  • There were no serious injuries reported or arrests made among the crowd of about 500 teenagers.
    David Matthews, New York Daily News, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • But what’s even more important is how the couple got together in the first place.
    Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 13 June 2025
  • This is one of the most important services of their lives.
    Buddha Lo, People.com, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • The 1984 Games were also privately funded and hailed as a massive success for their $225 million surplus that was invested in youth sports.
    Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
  • Food vendors sizzled meats at vendor stalls and kept juices in massive, unlabeled canisters under the gritty subway underpass – devoid of any labels or apparent sanitation or health and safety standards.
    Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
Adjective
  • Only the buzz of Israeli drones overhead filled the solemn silence.
    Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 7 June 2025
  • The score becomes grand and syrupy whenever there’s a big emotional revelation; characters deliver solemn soliloquies on the orderly beauty of math.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • The movie charts the influential British rock group's origin story in the late 1960s, from their earliest days – and how everybody wasn't all about that now-iconic name – to their meteoric rise as one of the world's biggest bands.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 14 June 2025
  • Kennedy, who has a history of hostility toward vaccines and has promoted conspiracy theories, earlier this week took the unprecedented step of removing all 17 members of the influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
    Bruce Japsen, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • Alcaraz has now beaten Sinner – who had won 20 straight major matches – five straight times.
    Adam Zagoria, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025
  • The arrival of humans was arguably another major and rapid evolutionary transition.
    Philip Ball, Wired News, 8 June 2025
Adjective
  • However, today’s teens also face more competition for college and a heavier focus on academic and extracurricular achievements, hence the lower rates of employment among 16 and 19-year-olds.
    Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 16 June 2025
  • Second matchup: Two years later, the teams met again, this time with Montreal the heavy favorite.
    Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 16 June 2025
Adjective
  • It’s submerged 11 to 15 feet deep, with its stern facing the shore.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 June 2025
  • Tonight: Explore! TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ★★★ Avoid arguments with others today, which might arise with Mercury in your House of Communications at odds with stern Saturn.
    Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 9 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Weighty.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/weighty. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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