1
[ adjective ] difficult to handle or use especially because of size or weight

Synonyms

cumbrous

Examples

"a cumbersome piece of machinery" "cumbrous protective clothing"

Used in print

(Kenneth Reiner, "Coping with Runaway Technology"...)

But while the corporation has all the disadvantages of the socialist form of organization ( so cumbersome it cannot constructively do much of anything not compatible with its need to perpetuate itself and maintain its status_quo ) , unluckily it does not have the desirable aspect of socialism , the motivation to operate for the benefit of society as_a_whole .

(Morton A. Kaplan and Nicholas de B. Katzenbach,...)

The legislative mills have been grinding ever since , and when its cumbersome processes were no_longer adequate_to the task , a limited legislative authority was delegated in one form or another , to the executive .

Related terms

unwieldy

2
[ adjective ] not elegant or graceful in expression

Examples

"an awkward prose style" "a clumsy apology" "his cumbersome writing style" "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?"

Related terms

infelicitous

3
[ adjective ] not elegant or graceful in expression

Examples

"an awkward prose style" "a clumsy apology" "his cumbersome writing style" "if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?"

Related terms

infelicitous

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