weigh down
Make feel heavy
To weigh down is to burden or press upon, either literally or figuratively.
Heavy cargo weighs down a boat, making it sit lower in the water.
Responsibilities weigh down a person, making them feel burdened or oppressed: She was weighed down by debt.
The phrase often suggests something that slows progress or dampens spirits.
Carried weight or burden
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
- onusResponsibility one bears
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- obligationRequired task or commitment
duty · liability · albatross · millstone · yoke · debt · commitment · baggage
Obstruct or delay
- obstructBlock or hinder passage
- hamperObstruct or clothes basket
- inhibitTo restrain or hinder
- restrainLimit freedom of movement
slow · constrain · encumber · handicap · hold back · retard · stifle · impair
Of great mass
- massiveExtremely large and heavy
- ponderousAwkwardly heavy or slow
- heftyConsiderable in weight
- bulkyLarge and awkward to handle
dense · leaden · cumbersome · unwieldy · substantial · laden · loaded · sagging
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sadnessState of emotional pain
- gloomPervasive dimness or dejection
- despairTotal absence of hope
- hopelessnessState without hope
sorrow · misery · grief · anguish · dejection · heavyhearted · downcast · crestfallen
load
Carried weight or burden
- encumbranceHindrance or legal claim
- onusResponsibility one bears
- responsibilityState of being answerable
obligation · duty · liability · albatross · millstone · yoke · debt · commitment · baggage · strain
hinder
Obstruct or delay
restrain · slow · constrain · encumber · handicap · hold back · retard · stifle · impair · cramp
heavy
Of great mass
bulky · dense · leaden · cumbersome · unwieldy · substantial · laden · loaded · sagging · dragging
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
hopelessness · sorrow · misery · grief · anguish · dejection · heavyhearted · downcast · crestfallen · despondent
swamped
Overwhelmed beyond capacity
- inundatedOverwhelmed by quantity
- overburdenedCarrying more than manageable
- engulfedCompletely swallowed up
overcome · submerged · flooded · besieged · exhausted · strained · taxed · overwrought · oppressed · crushed
- burdensburden, load, onus, obligations, encumbrance
- hold downpin, grip, press, secure, fasten
- heap onpile on, load up, stack up, pack on, add on
- compressioncompress, compression, compressor, compressing, compact