Word.ws English Dictionary

cumbrous

Syllables: cumbr·ous/ˈkʌmbɹəs/

cumbrous adjective: unwieldy because of size or weight; cumbersome.

Adjective

cumbrous (comparative more cumbrous, superlative most cumbrous)

  1. (also, figuratively, literary) Unwieldy because of size or weight; cumbersome.
    • Possession's load was grown so great, / He sunk beneath the cumbrous weight: […]1727, Jonathan Swift, “Desire and Possession”, in Thomas Sheridan, John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […]...
    • He therefore came to a ſudden reolution of throvving off thoſe cumbrous ornaments of learning, vvhich, as he imagined, hindered his reception; and vvith no other images than arcs and angles, commenced a man of vvit and jocularity.1751 December 13 (Gregorian calendar), Samuel Johnson, “No. 179. Monday, December 3. 1751.”, in The Rambler, volume VII, Edinburgh: […] Sands, Murray, and Cochran; sold by W. Gordon, C. Wright, J....
    Synonyms:
    encumbrous
    Antonyms:
    uncumbrous
  2. (literary, obsolete) Causing hindrance or obstruction.
    • But aftervvards, the Gauls ceaſed to moleſt and trouble, and the Romans gave over to fear, ſo ſoon as they vvere paſſed, and eſcaped the rough, cumbrous, and unpaſſable forreſts.1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book XXI]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC, page 329
    Synonyms:
    cumbersome
  3. (literary, obsolete) Giving annoyance or trouble; troublesome, vexatious.
    • A cloud of cumbrous gnattes doe him moleſt, / All ſtriuing to infixe their feeble ſtinges, / That from their noyance he no vvhere can reſt, / But vvith his clovvniſh hands their tender vvings, / He bruſheth oft, and oft doth mar their murmurings.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 23, page 9
    • Henceforth I flie not Death, nor would prolong / Life much, bent rather now I may be quit / Faireſt and eaſieſt of this combrous charge, / Which I muſt keep till my appointed day / Of rendring up.1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...

Examples of cumbrous in a sentence

  • The idea must be expressed, and the choice lies between a cumbrous word and a cumbrous sentence, the former of which seems the lesser evil.1890 August 23, “Weekly notes”, in The American, volume 524, Robert Ellison, page 370:
  • In each country writing began with pictures of the objects intended. […] In the course of thousands of years, this cumbrous system developed into alphabetic writing.1946, Bertrand Russell, “The Rise of Greek Civilization”, in History of Western Philosophy […], London: George Allen and Unwin, →OCLC, book...
  • This class of apparatus, often called today the "poste classique", gave first-class service in every respect but became cumbrous if a large layout had to be controlled.1961 November, “The Development of ‘P.R.S.’ on the French Railways”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC...

Synonyms of cumbrous

Antonyms

Forms of cumbrous

comparativemore cumbrous
superlativemost cumbrous
alternative formcombrous

Origin of cumbrous

From Late Middle English combrous (“causing obstruction; clumsy; obstructed; bothersome, difficult; burdensome, onerous; serious; causing trouble, troublesome; dangerous; immoral; unjust, wrongful; upset”) [and other forms], from komber, kumbre (“distress; destruction”) + -ous (suffix forming adjectives). The English word is analysable as cumber + -ous.

Words formed from cumbrous

Questions about cumbrous

What does cumbrous mean?
Cumbrous means unwieldy because of size or weight; cumbersome.
How do you use cumbrous in a sentence?
The idea must be expressed, and the choice lies between a cumbrous word and a cumbrous sentence, the former of which seems the lesser evil.
What part of speech is cumbrous?
Cumbrous is an adjective.
How do you pronounce cumbrous?
Cumbrous is pronounced /ˈkʌmbɹəs/ (UK).

Words near cumbrous in the dictionary

  1. Cumbrian umber
  2. Cumbrian umbers
  3. Cumbrians
  4. Cumbric
  5. cumbring
  6. cumbrous
  7. cumbrously
  8. cumbrousness
  9. cumbrousnesses
  10. cumbucket
  11. cumbuckets

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cumbrous (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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