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as in slow
causing weariness, restlessness, or lack of interest the study of history doesn't have to be all about dull heavy reading and the memorization of dates

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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heavy

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noun

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective heavy differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of heavy are cumbersome, cumbrous, ponderous, and weighty. While all these words mean "having great weight," heavy implies that something has greater density or thickness than the average of its kind or class.

a heavy child for his age

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

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 could ponderous be used to replace heavy?

The meanings of ponderous and heavy largely overlap; however, ponderous implies having great weight because of size and massiveness with resulting great inertia.

ponderous elephants in a circus parade

Where would weighty be a reasonable alternative to heavy?

In some situations, the words weighty and heavy are roughly equivalent. However, weighty suggests having actual and not just relative weight.

a load of weighty boxes

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 heavy
Adjective
During heavy rain, flooding is possible, especially in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2025 In 2014, his job was to make heavy electric repairs in the garage area at Michigan Assembly in Wayne. Jamie L. Lareau, Freep.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
Others are the heaviest of the heavy: a college student rendered brain-dead by a fentanyl overdose, a little girl who fatally drowns while saving her sister who fell into their swimming pool. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2025 Class struggle is reflected in the way that the back-alley heavy, Atticus Hawk, dismisses the ivory-tower eccentricity of the occult specialist Scholar Vitali. The New York Times, New York Times, 30 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for heavy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavy
Adjective
  • The massive vessel has a range of 8,000 nautical miles and accommodates 36 crew members and 22 guests.
    Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Utah's first national park unfolds like a living painting, where massive sandstone cliffs of cream, pink, and red soar into brilliant blue skies.
    Shelby Knick, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Burrow hopes that feeling the rush and gaining real reps working the pocket will help lessen the impact of opening-week clunkers that contributed to the team’s slow starts.
    Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Three organic meats are on offer for Sunday roast: slow roasted Black Angus, with creamed horseradish; succulent Tamworth Pork with bramley apple sauce and Texel Lamb with a classic mint sauce.
    Joanne Shurvell, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The sandwich, featuring ground meat—generally beef—suspended in a thick, sweet tomatoey sauce, has become an avatar of the horrible school lunch, a cliché that tends to go along with hairnets, greasy aprons, and other elements of canteen grotesquerie.
    Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Then, dry the area and see if any greasy residue remains.
    Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • That memory was hazy, half-lost–until a family photo album resurfaced decades later.
    Lee Sharrock, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
  • The near-surface smoke could dissipate by then, while the sky might still be hazy.
    Rick Sobey, Boston Herald, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The report didn’t elaborate on that treatment but studies and surveys have previously highlighted the military’s notoriously harsh conditions.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2025
  • The former Calle 13 member impresses her sensitivity to this piece, originally written by Orlando Brito and popularized in 1975 by the great Héctor Lavoe, giving it new life with her powerful, dramatic voice, accompanied by street guitars and harsh, aggressive chords that captivate the listener.
    Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Residents learn to care for critically ill patients, a process that demands intensive hours, extensive study outside of work to prepare for cases, and the emotional resilience to confront life-and-death situations daily.
    Richard Menger MD MPA, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Musicians are also drawn here; the historic Sewanee Summer Music Festival, a month-long training intensive, stages concerts each summer, and the University Choir performs every Sunday at All Saints’ Chapel during the academic year.
    Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Some serious symptoms of a West Nile virus infection include fever, severe headaches, stiff neck, disorientation or confusion.
    Nollyanne Delacruz, Mercury News, 17 Aug. 2025
  • Hormonal changes can trigger or worsen mental health conditions, including serious ones like psychosis.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This deep understanding of local transportation patterns would have been difficult with rapid multi-city expansion.
    Tima Bansal, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • But even though scientists have been able to discover thousands of planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system in recent years, including some around Proxima Centauri, which is fairly a dim star, it's been difficult to go planet-hunting around Alpha Centauri A and B, which orbit each other.
    Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 7 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Heavy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavy. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.

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