LUMBERING Synonyms: 268 Similar and Opposite Words

lumbering 1 of 2

adjective

as in shambling

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Dissimilar Words

as in plodding

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Dissimilar Words

lumbering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of lumber

as in shuffling

to move heavily or clumsily the elephant lumbered through the jungle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stumbling

to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually the novel's plot lumbers to its predictable conclusion after 500 long pages

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in rumbling

to make a low heavy rolling sound the horse-drawn wagon lumbered along the trail

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in loading

to place a weight or burden on preparations that will lumber the expedition with unnecessary equipment and supplies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of lumbering

Adjective

The Cubs players continued to taunt Ruth at every opportunity, and a big one came their way in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jurges slashed a sinking liner into right field and the lumbering, top-heavy Babe muffed a shoestring catch. — Literary Hub, 8 June 2026

Verb

If the country’s lumbering process continues to stall power progress indefinitely, Advaithi warned, AI’s growing appetite for electricity threatens to outpace the infrastructure needed to sustain it. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026 The lumbering left fielder whose poor defense can be papered over with excellent positioning suddenly will have to cover more ground. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 There’s at least one animal in Ben Affleck’s sixth featue as director, and that’s the elephant in the room — or lumbering around the Los Angeles locations — of this passably entertaining Netflix crime thriller. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026 The zombie – slow moving, with sallow complexion, hollow eyes, rotting teeth and a hunger for human flesh – has been lumbering through Hollywood movies for decades now. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 15 Sep. 2026 The pinniped pup looked around quizzically with large, black eyes before lumbering into the surf with abandon — as only the young can. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026 The public notice was seen as an important and logical step in the long and lumbering process of monitoring and potentially regulating the most powerful technology the world has ever seen. — Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026 And while Brooks Falls offers a front-row seat to their annual salmon feast, bears turn up throughout the park—digging for clams on windswept beaches, lumbering across open tundra, and prowling the banks of remote rivers. — Bailey Berg, Travel + Leisure, 1 Aug. 2026 Imax cameras are lumbering tools that weigh 300 pounds each and roar like Cuisinart blenders. — Brent Lang, Variety, 21 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lumbering

Adjective

With almost no plan, Sonny makes a shambling attempt at an armed robbery, only to end up trapped in the bank with the manager and five female tellers as his hostages.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 31 Mar. 2026
One rarely gains a sense of what people look like (beyond the son’s bulky physique and shambling movements, in which the mother ‘caught a flash of her brother’).

— Dan Sheehan, Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026

Definition of shambling

Adjective

Bennie Liebenberg, a former geologist at the mine who was serving as our guide, has the plodding, slightly wide-eyed manner of someone who has spent a lot of time underground.

— James Dinneen, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
During the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, activists from the gay community lambasted him and his institute for the plodding pace of research on the virus.

— Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 July 2026

Definition of plodding

Verb

Green tea was served by gang members shuffling around in slippers.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Ivey and his partner persuaded the Crockfords dealer to rotate the high-value cards 180 degrees before shuffling them back into the pack, citing some obscure superstition as justification.

— Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of shuffling

Verb

Big banks made changes to overdraft fees and fraud protections following previous testimony, for example, while former Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf abruptly resigned in 2016 after stumbling during hearings on the bank’s fake accounts scandal.

— Reuters, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026
In an era of geotags and influencers, there’s something deeply satisfying about stumbling upon a place that still feels like a secret.

— Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of stumbling

Verb

Listen closely to the sound design and hear jets continually rumbling to and from LAX.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
And Quentin Collette’s turbulent soundscape — rumbling, clanking, with the unrelenting downpour stirring in elemental fury — mixes seamlessly with the tense synth riffs of French electronic composer Robin Coudert, known professionally as ROB.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of rumbling

Verb

Storyteller experiments with some next-generation convertible furniture designs to make the new van even more versatile and better equipped for loading up gear.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026
Russian diesel exports loading from the Baltic port of Primorsk resumed on Tuesday, with a tanker carrying around 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel heading towards Morocco, according to LSEG data reported by Reuters on Wednesday.

— Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of loading

Adjective

The relentless Karlaftis didn’t record the Chiefs’ first sack of the game, but got enough of Kirk Cousins’ right arm to create a wobbly pass intercepted by Xavier Nwankpa.

— Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 14 Oct. 2026
Beyond aesthetics, is there anything to be gleaned from Huang’s large, looping capitals or from Brockman’s wobbly lowercase initials?

— Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of wobbly

Adjective

Less cumbersome portable hifi listening Accessibility Innovations improving life for the elderly and people with disabilities.

— Time, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Though there are other techniques for directly locating explosives, these tend to be cumbersome and can only detect explosives in bulk, while MineReader is as portable as a conventional detector rig.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of cumbersome

Browse Nearby Words

lumberers

lumbering

lumberjack

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Style

“Lumbering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lumbering. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lumbering

adjective

verb

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