as in clumsy
difficult to use or operate especially because of size, weight, or design
it took two people to haul the cumbrous machine into the garage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cumbrous
There were three good reasons to abandon the Clean Power Plan, and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt cited two of them in his decision, announced Monday, to rescind the cumbrous carbon dioxide rule.
—
The Editors, National Review, 9 Oct. 2017
The Road Home Program, a state program supposed to help rebuild, was cumbrous and slow, and grants often didn’t cover the cost of repairs.
—Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2017
The ordinary secular mode of divorce in India is, like any other Indian legal proceeding, rather more cumbrous.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2017
The Editors, National Review, 9 Oct. 2017
The Road Home Program, a state program supposed to help rebuild, was cumbrous and slow, and grants often didn’t cover the cost of repairs.
—Washington Post, 1 Sep. 2017
The ordinary secular mode of divorce in India is, like any other Indian legal proceeding, rather more cumbrous.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 27 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cumbrous
Adjective
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And Hank’s own clumsy attempts at hypermasculine child-rearing often come from his father, Cotton (Toby Huss).—
Daniel Dockery,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
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Gone are are the days of clumsy imagery and texts and fake sign-in pages that can be detected in an instant.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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Advertisement Advertisement To illustrate this point, consider the best man at a wedding who, instead of celebrating the couple, shares personal stories that only serve to embarrass them, often with awkward details that have no place in such a tender moment.—
Matt Abrahams,
Time,
12 July 2025
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An historic night at Madison Square Garden on Friday night turned into an awkward moment in the wee hours of Saturday morning at the Taylor-Serrano 3 post-fight press conference.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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Second, immigrant families could obtain relief through class-action lawsuits, although filing class actions in federal court can be a lengthy and cumbersome process.—
Nell Salzman,
Chicago Tribune,
6 July 2025
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Their effects will be modulated by how cumbersome or efficient work-verification systems are, by the availability of insurance-eligibility workers, and by community outreach or lack thereof.—
Lindsay Ryan,
The Atlantic,
5 July 2025
Adjective
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Looming large is the thorny issue of Washington and how to handle Trump and his unwieldy and unpredictable tariffs regime that could affect severely impact European and global economic growth.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
8 July 2025
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But using SAVE for this sort of verification was unwieldy.—
Miles Parks,
NPR,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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The official title is technically F1®: The Movie, an ungainly, trademarked reminder of both the brand the film was made in conjunction with, and the fact that that brand is so big that this $200-300 million Hollywood production is a blip in comparison.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
26 June 2025
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The cornerstones of maps’ data pools are satellite images and a tireless fleet of Street View cars that roam with ungainly camera hats, constantly refreshing neighborhood-level detail.—
Sonya Bennett-Brandt,
AFAR Media,
25 June 2025
Adjective
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And the movie has a real sweetness and sincerity to it, determined to give family audiences a superhero flick that’s not all ponderous brooding and dark origin stories.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
11 July 2025
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But despite those skillful trappings, the story soon feels ponderous.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cumbrous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cumbrous. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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