cumbersome

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

cumber (hindrance) +‎ -some.

PronunciationEdit

AdjectiveEdit

cumbersome (comparative more cumbersome, superlative most cumbersome)

  1. Burdensome or hindering, as if a weight or drag; vexatious
    • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. [], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, [], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 54:
      "You can throw off your cumbersome disguise here," said Lucy, though the words could scarcely be distinguished, from her excessive agitation, Evelyn hastily caught up a cloak and cap laid ready for him, and a few minutes brought them into the sitting-room.
  2. Not easily managed or handled; awkward; clumsy.
    Cumbersome machines can endanger operators and slow down production.
  3. Hard, difficult, demanding to handle or get around with.
    A slaves' work was as cumbersome as toiling on the fields, or in the mines.
  4. Inert, lumbering, slow in movement

SynonymsEdit

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.