cumbrous

English

Etymology

From cumber + -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈkʌmbɹəs/

Adjective

cumbrous (comparative more cumbrous, superlative most cumbrous)

1. Unwieldy because of its weight; cumbersome.

   He sunk beneath the cumbrous weight. — Swift.

   That cumbrous and unwieldy style which disfigures English composition so extensively. — De Quincey.

   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, ch. 1

     In the course of thousands of years, this cumbrous system developed into alphabetic writing.

2. (obsolete) Giving trouble; vexatious.

   A cloud of cumbrous gnats. — Spenser.