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
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
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Recent Examples of heavy
Adjective
This heavy rain may produce flash flooding, especially in areas of higher terrain.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
27 Aug. 2026 But the other 3,200 properties are targeted for elevation, which involves keeping the home pretty much as-is, but jacking it up with heavy machinery and building a new, taller foundation.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug. 2026
Noun
Geoffrey Lechantoux is responsible for the French-seafood-heavy menu.—
Nancy Kane,
Curbed,
25 June 2026 Most standard blends are nitrogen-heavy, which encourages leaf growth instead of fruit.—
Nishaa Sharma,
The Spruce,
20 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavy
However, fundraising on such a massive scale has also heightened market concerns over long-term capacity oversupply.
—
,
CNBC,
28 Aug. 2026
Trump then argued that a massive renovation of the building can’t be completed without his fundraising – and recognition for it with his name on the building and grounds – even though Congress appropriated $257 million for the project.
This non-greasy, lightweight formula improves scalp health to promote healthy, thicker, and faster hair growth.
—
Reece Andavolgyi,
InStyle,
26 Aug. 2026
This is a player who has been a modestly above-average finisher throughout his career, and has a serious nose for cashing in greasy goals at the net front.
By the twentieth century, intensive farming practices had left the South dangerously vulnerable to erosion, producing depleted swaths of land where kudzu would later flourish.
—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Aug. 2026
The next day, Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse and a lifelong Catholic, was shot and killed by federal agents.
The losses linked to the demise of these groups are difficult to quantify, but participants and advocates say the impacts will reverberate across federal agencies for years.
—
Katia Riddle,
NPR,
29 Aug. 2026
Ground surveys can provide more detailed information at a particular site, but covering an entire subway corridor that way would be difficult.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Aug. 2026
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