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
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
The heavy rainfall activated the desert’s biological material, known as germplasm — seeds, bulbs and tubers but also the eggs of various invertebrates and reptiles.—
Nayara Batschke,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Oct. 2026 Sonoma County supervisors on Tuesday issued an emergency proclamation ahead of the developing El Niño season that is predicted to cause heavy rain during the winter.—
Senior Editor,
CBS News,
7 Oct. 2026
Noun
Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
14 Sep. 2026 Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.—Literary Hub,
9 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for heavy
On Monday, stand-up comedians on social media launched a massive awareness campaign to pressure one of their own, Sebastian Maniscalco, to reconsider recent programming decisions at his SiriusXM radio station, Sebastian Maniscalco’s Comedy Radio.
—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
8 Oct. 2026
The whole story unfolds within a massive narrative arc that spans the roughly 20 years of the hunt for the Monster.
But the numbers that could give clarity on disabled kids in foster care are harder to come by — partly because of the sometimes hazy definitions of disability but also because of the failure of child welfare providers to even count them.
—
Joseph Shapiro,
NPR,
30 Sep. 2026
As the show became a cultural juggernaut, some criticized its vigilante justice and the hazy line between law enforcement and journalism.
The Reaveys spent Callum’s early years performing their own intensive physical and speech therapies with him, determined their son would roll over, crawl, and learn to say his name.
—
Deepa Fernandes,
STAT,
8 Oct. 2026
These are intensive oral sessions with examiners that are designed to test quick problem-solving and reveal knowledge depth.
Doctors of podiatric medicine (DPMs) treat all foot conditions ranging from toenails, bunions, fractures, and plantar fasciitis to serious diabetic foot complications that can lead to limb amputation.
—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Oct. 2026
What began as a hobby to help explain complex redistricting cases more effectively has grown into a serious media operation.
Copy Citation
