Cumber

To cumber means to hinder, impede, or burden someone or something, often with an excess of something or something unnecessary. It suggests an obstruction or impediment that makes movement, progress, or function more difficult. This impediment can be physical, like an accumulation of objects, or abstract, such as worries or duties. The verb implies a slowing down, making it difficult to navigate through something. It emphasizes a state of being weighed down or encumbered, inhibiting freedom or ease of action. The object or subject that is being cumbered may be overloaded, restricted, or made more difficult to manage.

Cumber meaning with examples

• The old house, filled with decades of accumulated possessions, began to cumber the family's efforts to downsize and move to a smaller home. Every room was cluttered, and the sheer volume of things made packing and selling a daunting prospect, creating significant delays and stress during the preparations to move.
• The excessive paperwork and bureaucratic red tape started to cumber the small business, making it difficult to respond efficiently to customer needs and slowing down their processing times, thus, the company suffered financially as it couldn't offer timely solutions. Consequently, sales fell dramatically.
• Anxiety and fear began to cumber her mind, preventing her from concentrating on her studies and preparing for the upcoming exams. Worries about her performance, her future, and peer pressure became a debilitating burden, that caused significant stress and undermined her academic performance, leaving her feeling overwhelmed.
• The heavy chains began to cumber the prisoners' movements, making escape impossible, and slowing the speed of their progress, the shackles, symbolic of both physical and mental restrictions, became a constant source of discomfort and demoralization for the convicts.
• The complexity of the software's interface, with too many options and features, started to cumber the user experience. This made it confusing, difficult to use, and consequently, the lack of simplicity reduced user satisfaction and hindered the program's effectiveness, and reduced productivity.