ponderous

9 7.9

Slow and heavy in movement or speech and often boring

adjective
/ˈpɒndərəs/

: ponderoso

Blue Sky Man glowed above, his ponderous belly only hidden by occasional clouds.

Two of the immense apartments are filled with high and ponderous glass cases.

Examples

Their silence was touched by the ponderous echo of a boat, chugging through the marina.

Fiction book (1995)
The professor's lectures were often so ponderous that many students struggled to stay awake.
We cannot bear the ponderous weight of our chains any longer.

Peterloo (2018)
With the world crying out for dynamic solutions to ponderous problems, creative children must be our legacy.

Academic text (1991)
The critics would say the ponderous pedants are doing it on purpose.

Academic text (2016)
But it'll be slow, ponderous, and costly to own as well.
Despite the prettiness, there was something formal and ponderous in so much visible distance.

Fiction book (1990)
Then the mighty legs flexed to carry the tree thing forward in steady, ponderous strides.

Fiction book (1992)
Even many academic scholars find this ponderous quest for new historical significance uninspired and futile.

Academic text (1991)
His long poems have been criticized as ponderous and elephantine by Randall Jarrell, whose critical work I loved.

Synonyms

tedious

vsponderous

87 4.4

Boring and repetitive, making you feel mentally tired

may instead describe slow, heavy manner or clumsy length rather than long boredom

dreary

vsponderous

44 3.8

A gloomy, boring time that makes you feel sad or tired

is more about slow, heavy delivery or clumsy style than sad mood

lackluster

vsponderous

30 6.1

Dull and showing little energy

often stresses slow, heavy form or clumsy delivery rather than low energy

drab

vsponderous

23 4.2

Not bright or colorful and not lively

leans toward slowness, weight, or clumsy movement rather than plain appearance

heavy

vsponderous

20 2.3

Moving slowly in a clumsy way

also applies to slow, boring speech or writing not only physical weight

lifeless

vsponderous

19 3.6

Without energy or interest and making people feel bored

can point to slow, heavy movement or dull phrasing rather than mere stillness

dull

vsponderous

Offensive

19 2.8

Slow to notice or react to things

tends to describe slow, heavy manner or boring style rather than slow thinking

vapid

vsponderous

16 7.9

Not interesting or lively and often boring

tends to focus on slow, heavy style or plodding rhythm rather than emptiness

monotonous

vsponderous

14 5.3

Something that is boring because it has no variety

often means slow, heavy style or plodding rhythm rather than only repetition

prosaic

vsponderous

8 7.9

Ordinary and dull without imagination or excitement

is more about slow, heavy delivery or plodding tone than plain ordinary style

pallid

vsponderous

2 7.4

Not interesting or lively and often boring

usually highlights slow, heavy pacing or clumsy weight rather than weak appearance

lumbering

vsponderous

1 5.0

Moving slowly and heavily in an awkward way

can also describe slow, dull speech or clumsy phrasing rather than movement

dullish

vsponderous

Offensive

5.8

Slow to understand things

commonly refers to slow, heavy style or clumsy pacing not mental slowness

Antonyms

lively

111 1.3

Having a lot of energy and enthusiasm

nimble

20 4.4

Able to move quickly and easily

light

1 2.1

With very little luggage when travelling

How Heavy

massive

236 3.1

ponderous

9 7.9

heavy

220 1.0

light

1 2.1

Surface Forms

ponderous positive

ponderouser comparative

ponderousest superlative

Morphology

ponderous = ponder (opaque) = ponder + ous

Although the form is analyzable as 'ponder' + '-ous', the modern verb 'ponder' means 'to think', whereas 'ponderous' means heavy/slow, so the meaning is not derivable from the base.

Etymology

Ponderous comes from the Latin root pond- meaning 'weight', and it is related to the English word ponder, which originally meant to 'weigh' ideas. So calling something ponderous is like saying it is 'full of weight'—either physically heavy or slow and boring.