cumbersome
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cumbersome
- /ˈkʌmbəsəm/ UK
- /ˈkʌmbɚsəm/ US
Rhymes with -ʌmbə(ɹ)səm
Where it comes from
From Middle English cumbyrsum, cummyrsum; equivalent to cumber (“hindrance”) + -some. Compare encumber and incumbent.
adjective more cumbersome · most cumbersome
- Burdensome or hindering, as if a weight or drag; vexatious. "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.
- Not easily managed or handled; awkward or clumsy. Cumbersome machines can endanger operators and slow down production.
- Hard, difficult, and demanding to handle or get around with. A slave’s work was as cumbersome as toiling on the fields, or in the mines.
- Inert, lumbering, or slow in movement.
