Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to hang heavy

to hang heavy

3 8.6
To create a dark, worrying feeling that stays with people
  • phrasal verb
: pesar
  • The truth hung heavy in her tone.
  • air hung heavy
  • silence hung heavy
  • mist hung heavy

Examples

  • But the unsaid things hung heavy in this scene.

    Blog text (20)

  • The words hang heavy in the air.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • And the cold hung heavy over Washington.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The air in Scotland hangs heavy with history.

  • Hot afternoon air hung heavy and expectant.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The scent of the forest, a rich incense of wood, earth, leaves, and animals, hung heavy in the air.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The news passed through the Cheyenne camp with such alarm that near silence hung heavy among them.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Smoke hangs heavy in the air, occluding the area where Frost had stood.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • An atmosphere of suspicion hung heavy over the agency, while new rules meant that administrative staff were to be promoted at the same rate as field operatives.

    Academic text (2009)

  • An atmosphere of suspicion hung heavy in the air after the argument.

Synonyms

to weigh
vsto hang heavy
65 5.8

To make someone feel worried or burdened

is an external oppressive presence rather than an internal personal burden
to weigh on
vsto hang heavy
46 5.2

To cause worry or sadness that stays in someone's mind

is environmental and ominous rather than specifically troubling a person
to weigh on someone's mind
vsto hang heavy
6 6.0

To make someone feel worried for a long time

is a present oppressive atmosphere not only a long personal worry
to hang heavy in the air
vsto hang heavy
1 7.7

A strong feeling that people in a place notice and feel

is more oppressive and ominous rather than only strongly present

Antonyms

lift
87 1.0

An act of raising something or a movement upward

to lighten
36 2.5

To make a load or worry feel less heavy

How Oppressive

to oppress
100 6.5
to hang heavy
3 8.6
to weigh on
46 5.2

Surface Forms

hang heavy infinitive
hanging heavy present participle
hangs heavy third person singular
hung heavy past
hung heavy past participle

Morphology

hang + heavy

The sense is directly compositional: 'hang' (to persist or linger) combined with 'heavy' (burdensome, ominous) yields something that lingers in a burdensome or oppressive way. This uses the common, cross-linguistic metaphor of 'heaviness' for emotional weight, so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Hang heavy comes from the image of something that literally hangs and is heavy, like dark clouds or a weight that presses down over a room. So when silence or a feeling hangs heavy, it feels like a weight — 'hard to bear'.