different between cumbrous vs cumbersome

English

Etymology

cumber +? -ous

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?mb??s/

Adjective

cumbrous (comparative more cumbrous, superlative most cumbrous)

1. Unwieldy because of its weight; cumbersome.
   • 1727, Jonathan Swift, Desire and Possession

     He sunk beneath the cumbrous weight.

   • 1840, Thomas De Quincey, Style (published in Blackwood's Magazine)

     that cumbrous and unwieldy style which disfigures English composition so extensively
2. (obsolete) Giving trouble; vexatious.

References

• “cumbrous”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.

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