different between cumbersome vs encumber

English

Etymology

cumber (“hindrance”) +? -some.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?k?mb?s?m/

Adjective

cumbersome (comparative more cumbersome, superlative most cumbersome)

1. Burdensome or hindering, as a weight or drag; vexatious
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

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:difficult

Derived terms

• cumbersomely
• cumbersomeness

Synonyms

• cumbrous
• unwieldy

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English encombren, from Old French encombrer, from en- + combrer (“to hinder”); see cumber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?n?k?mb?(?)/, /?n?k?mb?(?)/
• Rhymes: -?mb?(r)

Verb

encumber (third-person singular simple present encumbers, present participle encumbering, simple past and past participle encumbered)

1. (transitive) to load down something with a burden
2. (transitive) to restrict or block something with a hindrance or impediment
3. (transitive) to burden with a legal claim or other obligation

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:hinder

Antonyms

• disencumber, unload, unencumber

Derived terms

• encumbrance
• encumbrous

Related terms

• unencumber
• incumbrance
• cumber
• cumbersome

Translations

Further reading

• encumber in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• encumber in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “encumber”, in Online Etymology Dictionary