cumbersome
4
7.1
- adjective
- /ˈkʌmbərsəm/
:
enrevesado
- The elaborate decoration made the room feel cumbersome and cramped.
- somewhat cumbersome
- too cumbersome
- less cumbersome
You know, and although it was cumbersome, like it was like, man, it's a lot.
- You know, and although it was cumbersome, like it was like, man, it's a lot.
- You just want, but you want someone to date your mom who's not, who's not cumbersome in their in their job.
Examples
-
As we discussed earlier, two issues restrict success for students with SLD in STEM courses: ineffective instructional methods and cumbersome content demands.
Academic text (2013) -
I mean, it's becoming a bit more cumbersome to write down, but you can check that.
-
So we had a very cumbersome way of coming up with this.
-
That would give me a rather cumbersome and not very pretty plot.
-
His music, too, had become cumbersome; the notes were heavy and humorless, each one more forced than the last.
Fiction book (1999) -
Read and reread that fine print no matter how cumbersome it seems.
Blog text (12) -
However, this idea turned out to be a little too cumbersome, investigating and laying out plans for two destinations on the same day.
Academic text (2004) -
Over the years, I've tried many, but most are too complex or too cumbersome when it comes to paperless devices.
Blog text (7) -
The local governance role of districts and school boards would become cumbersome, if not obsolete.
Academic text (1992) -
Other states, especially European countries with long traditions of corporatist management, rely on cumbersome joint government-and-industry decision-making.
Academic text (2008)
Synonyms
33
3.0
Not graceful in movement or action
21
3.2
Saying or writing things in an awkward, not skillful way that causes embarrassment
16
6.7
Hard to move because it is large, heavy, or oddly shaped
16
5.5
Something awkward and heavy in movement or design that is hard to use
5
4.9
Not graceful or pleasing in style
4
7.3
Moving or looking awkward and clumsy
1
7.5
Not suitable and awkward when speaking or acting
1
4.9
Showing awkward, not smooth movement or shape
1
3.7
Not fashionable or elegant in appearance
Antonyms
How Awkward
Surface Forms
Morphology
cumbersome = cumber (semi-transparent) = cumber + some
The adjective is formed from 'cumber' + '-some' in a regular way, but the sense 'lacking grace or elegance' is a metaphorical extension from physical awkwardness and may not be fully inferable by learners who don't know 'cumber'.
Etymology
Cumbersome also comes from cumber ('to burden') and -some ('causing'), so think of something that 'weighs down' an idea. If a sentence or style 'burdens' the reader and gets in the way, it feels awkward and clumsy. That's why cumbersome can describe a style or expression that is hard to read.