ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hefty

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈhɛfti// UK //hˈɛfti// hefty

adj. large, heavy, or powerful. You can use it to describe a physical object or a surprisingly large amount of money.

adj. impressively large, heavy, or substantial. Often used to describe physical weight or significant financial costs.


SIMPLE

He had to pay a hefty fine for parking illegally.

CONTEXTUAL

The movers struggled to carry the hefty wooden wardrobe up the narrow stairs.

COMPLEX

The startup faced a hefty challenge when their primary investor withdrew support just weeks before the product launch.

Synonyms
Origin

19th century. From heft (“weight”) + -y. The similarity with German heftig (“vigorous, violent, intense”) is apparently coincidental. From the German are Dutch, Danish, Norwegian heftig, Swedish häftig.

Usage

Commonly used to modify nouns related to weight, size, or financial amounts like 'price', 'fine', or 'sum'.

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