Onerous

//ˈɑnəɹəs// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Imposing or constituting a physical, mental, or figurative load which can be borne only with effort; burdensome.

    "That all this might not be too onerous on the purses of his rustic patrons, who are apt to consider the costs of schooling a grievous burden, and schoolmasters as mere drones, he had various ways of rendering himself both useful and agreeable."

Adjective
  1. 1
    not easily borne; wearing wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
burdensomedemandingannoyingarduousarduouslybackbreaking

Example

More examples

"Taxation according to income is the most effective instrument yet devised to obtain just contribution from those best able to bear it and to avoid placing onerous burdens upon the mass of our people."

Etymology

From Middle English onerous, from Middle French onereux, from Old French onereus, from Latin onerosus (“burdensome”), from onus (“load”). Compare exonerate.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.