cumbersome

English

Etymology

cumber (“hindrance”) +‎ -some.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmbəsəm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkʌmbɚsəm/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Adjective

cumbersome (comparative more cumbersome, superlative most cumbersome)

1. Burdensome or hindering, as a weight or drag; vexatious
   • 1834, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Francesca Carrara, volume 3, page 54:

     "You can throw off your cumbersome disguise here," said Lucy, though the words could scarcely be distinguished, from her excessive agitation, Evelyn hastily caught up a cloak and cap laid ready for him, and a few minutes brought them into the sitting-room.

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

burdensome or hindering, as a weight or drag; vexatious; cumbrous

• Bulgarian: тежък (bg) (težǎk), обременителен (bg) (obremenitelen)
• Dutch: hinderlijk (nl), lastig (nl), moeilijk (nl), moeizaam (nl), zwaar (nl)
• Dzongkha: ལྗིད་ཅན (jicen)
• Finnish: vaivalloinen (fi), hankala (fi)
• French: encombrant (fr)
• Galician: pesado (gl), custoso, traballoso
• German: hinderlich, lästig, mühsam (de), beschwerlich (de)
• Hungarian: bumfordi
• Italian: ingombrante (it)

• Korean: 주체스럽다 (jucheseureopda), 불편하다 (ko) (bulpyeonhada)
• Maori: hīrawerawe
• Polish: uciążliwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: incómodo (pt) (Portugal), incômodo (pt) (Brazil)
• Russian: обремени́тельный (ru) (obremenítelʹnyj), затрудни́тельный (ru) (zatrudnítelʹnyj), тя́гостный (ru) (tjágostnyj)
• Spanish: pesado (es), cargante (es)
• Swedish: otymplig (sv)
• Turkish: külfetli (tr)

not easily managed or handled; awkward

• Bulgarian: неудобен (bg) (neudoben)
• Dutch: lastig (nl), moeilijk (nl), moeizaam (nl), onhandig (nl), zwaar (nl), omslachtig (nl)
• Finnish: kömpelö (fi), hankalasti käsiteltävä, hankalakäyttöinen
• Galician: aparatoso
• German: (objects) sperrig (de), (procedure) umständlich (de)
• Italian: difficile da usare

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uhåndterlig

• Plautdietsch: schwoafalich
• Polish: nieporęczny (pl) m, niewygodny (pl) m
• Portuguese: desajeitado (pt)
• Russian: громо́здкий (ru) (gromózdkij), неудо́бный (ru) (neudóbnyj)
• Turkish: zor taşınır

hard, difficult, demanding to handle

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 麻烦的

• Dutch: lastig (nl), moeilijk (nl), moeizaam (nl)
• Finnish: vaivalloinen (fi), rasittava (fi)
• French: pénible (fr), fastidieux (fr)

• German: schwierig (de)
• Hungarian: nehéz (hu)
• Polish: nieporęczny (pl) m
• Russian: сло́жный (ru) (slóžnyj), проблематичный (ru) (problematičnyj)
• Turkish: zor (tr)

inert, lumbering, slow in movement

• Dutch: log (nl), lastig (nl)
• Finnish: kömpelö (fi)
• French: lourd (fr), lent (fr)

• German: schwerfällig (de)
• Hungarian: lomha (hu)
• Russian: объёмный (ru) (obʺjómnyj), грузный (ru) (gruznyj), объёмистый (ru) (obʺjómistyj)
• Turkish: ağır (tr), hantal (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} scomodo (it)