— heaviness , n.
/hev"ee/ , adj., heavier, heaviest , n. , pl. heavies , adv.
adj.
1. of great weight; hard to lift or carry: a heavy load.
2. of great amount, quantity, or size; extremely large; massive: a heavy vote; a heavy snowfall.
3. of great force, intensity, turbulence, etc.: a heavy sea.
4. of more than the usual or average weight: a heavy person; heavy freight.
5. having much weight in proportion to bulk; being of high specific gravity: a heavy metal.
6. of major import; grave; serious: a heavy offense.
7. deep or intense; profound: a heavy thinker; heavy slumber.
8. Mil.
a. thickly armed or equipped with guns of large size. Cf. heavy cruiser .
b. (of guns) of the more powerful sizes: heavy weapons. Cf. heavy artillery .
9. hard to bear; burdensome; harsh; oppressive: heavy taxes.
10. hard to cope with; trying; difficult: a heavy task.
11. being as indicated to an unusually great degree: a heavy buyer.
12. broad, thick, or coarse; not delicate: heavy lines drawn in charcoal.
13. weighted or laden: air heavy with moisture.
14. fraught; loaded; charged: words heavy with meaning.
15. depressed with trouble or sorrow; showing sorrow; sad: a heavy heart.
16. without vivacity or interest; ponderous; dull: a heavy style.
17. slow in movement or action; clumsy: a heavy walk.
18. loud and deep; sonorous: a heavy sound.
19. (of the sky) overcast or cloudy.
20. exceptionally dense in substance; insufficiently raised or leavened; thick: heavy doughnuts.
21. (of food) not easily digested.
22. being in a state of advanced pregnancy; nearing childbirth: heavy with child; heavy with young.
23. having a large capacity, capable of doing rough work, or having a large output: a heavy truck.
24. producing or refining basic materials, as steel or coal, used in manufacturing: heavy industry.
25. sober, serious, or somber: a heavy part in a drama.
26. Chem. of or pertaining to an isotope of greater than normal atomic weight, as heavy hydrogen or heavy oxygen, or to a compound containing such an element, as heavy water.
27. Slang.
a. very good; excellent.
b. very serious or important: a really heavy relationship.
28. Pros. (of a syllable)
a. stressed.
b. long.
n.
29. a somber or ennobled theatrical role or character: Iago is the heavy in Othello.
30. the theatrical role of a villain.
31. an actor who plays a theatrical heavy.
32. Mil. a gun of great weight or large caliber.
33. Slang. a very important or influential person: a reception for government heavies.
adv.
34. heavily.
[ bef. 900; ME hevi, OE hefig, equiv. to hef ( e ) weight (akin to HEAVE) + -ig -Y 1 ]
Syn. 1. ponderous, massive, weighty. 5. dense. 9. onerous, grievous, cumbersome; difficult, severe. 14. HEAVY, MOMENTOUS, WEIGHTY refer to anything having a considerable amount of figurative weight. HEAVY suggests the carrying of a figurative burden: words heavy with menace. MOMENTOUS emphasizes the idea of great and usually serious consequences: a momentous occasion, statement. WEIGHTY, seldom used literally, refers to something heavy with importance, often concerned with public affairs, which may require deliberation and careful judgment: a weighty matter, problem. 15. gloomy, mournful, dejected, despondent, downcast, downhearted. 16. tedious, tiresome, wearisome, burdensome, boring. 17. sluggish, lumbering. 19. lowering, gloomy.