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encumber

[en-kuhm-ber] / ɛnˈkʌm bər /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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“Traditionally, these big changes are something that you grant to the next mayor because you don’t want to necessarily encumber them,” Matute said.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 31, 2026

A shark cannot sink the submarine alone, but it can certainly encumber it.

From Slate Nov. 20, 2023

"It was a time to really get to know one another with no outside influences to encumber you," Duffy told the outlet.

From Fox News Jul. 3, 2021

It would be even more difficult in the District, which pays from current appropriations and cannot encumber future appropriations under current legislation.

From Washington Post Dec. 16, 2016

A shocking number of phrases that drop easily from the fingers are bloated with words that encumber the reader without conveying any content.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

“That is expensive, not sustainable and encumbers future generations with further long-term liabilities,” Karsten Smid, an energy expert with the group’s German branch, said in a statement.

From Seattle Times Feb. 26, 2024

By now we all know the basic data about college student loan debt—that it totals more than $1.7 trillion, encumbers around 40 million people at present, and cannot be absolved in bankruptcy.

From Salon Aug. 14, 2021

North Korea’s trade with China plunged more than 80% last year, Chinese customs data has shown, as the isolated country’s strict coronavirus lockdown encumbers an economy already burdened by international sanctions.

From The Guardian Jan. 19, 2021

He has said that he wears one when he’s concerned about being respectful, but that a jacket encumbers his political pugilism.

From Washington Post Jun. 10, 2020

It’s the way civilized man now encumbers his territory, not with great walls or stretches of wire but with a single well-placed device, a neat bundling with the workings of a mind.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

His house was encumbered with liens and he’d sold a “prop plane” that prosecutors cited when arguing he was a risk to abscond, Maitia said.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 21, 2025

He gets straight into it on his new record, on an opening track encumbered with the blindingly literal title, "Opening".

From BBC Sep. 11, 2025

The encumbered amount will probably, but not necessarily, be spent eventually.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 21, 2024

But McAfee said that the “prosecution is encumbered by an appearance of impropriety.”

From Salon Mar. 15, 2024

I myself was encumbered with Judy Poovey and her friends Tracy and Beth.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Matus is seeking an injunction preventing the three defendants — Goldin Auctions, LLC, and Florida residents Chris Belanski and Kelvin Ramirez — from “transferring, encumbering, selling, or concealing the 50/50 Ball.”

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 26, 2024

Global competition and “innovation” have often been cited as reasons to avoid encumbering tech companies with regulation.

From Slate Dec. 28, 2023

Forbes reported on how the influx of returns has encumbering retailers since early 2021.

From Washington Times Jun. 28, 2022

Personally, I blame the baggy white t-shirt Mickelson was wearing underneath his polo, the added weight encumbering his movement.

From Golf Digest Mar. 25, 2020

Writing, as he did, at and for Paris, there was, indeed, no reason for thus encumbering his book; for in Paris the Veuve Cadart is always ready to supply all the wants of the etcher.

From A Treatise on Etching by Maxime Lalanne




Vocabulary lists containing encumber


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