We adopted "ponderous" with the literal sense "heavy" from Anglo-French ponderus in the 15th century, and early on we appended a figurative sense of "weighty," that is, "serious" or …

PONDEROUS definition: of great weight; heavy; massive. See examples of ponderous used in a sentence.

PONDEROUS definition: 1. slow and awkward because of being very heavy or large: 2. If a book, speech, or style of…. Learn more.

ponderous (ˈpɒndərəs) adj 1. of great weight; heavy; huge 2. (esp of movement) lacking ease or lightness; awkward, lumbering, or graceless

Definition of ponderous adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

ponderous, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

1 day ago · Adjective ponderous (comparative more ponderous, superlative most ponderous) Heavy, massive, weighty.

When you call Frankenstein's monster ponderous, it's not because he likes to ponder the great questions of life. It's because he moves like a Mack truck, only slower and less gracefully.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025 pon•der•ous (pon′ dər əs), adj. of great weight; heavy; massive. awkward or unwieldy: He carried a …

Ponderous writing or speech is very serious, uses more words than necessary, and is rather dull.