Burden

/ˈbɜːdn̩/

Synonyms for "burden" (608 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (122)

Noun(22 words)

load onus albatrosses annoyances armful assign barrages boatload boulders brunt bugaboo cangue cargo cargoes carica chore chores core costcost burden

Show 2 more words

costliness crushing

Determiner(1 words)

a lot of homework

accommodation add adjoin affix afflict affliction agglutinate agitate albatross allegiance amount anacrusis annex antistrophe append arraignability arraignablenessassigned taskattach bag

Show 75 more words

bale bane barrel basis bassbass passagebear down onbear hard uponbete noirebisbitter cupbitter draftbitter draughtbitter pillblameworthinessbloody handsbob body book bother bottlebounden dutybourdon box bridge brunt bugbearburden of careburden withburdening burthen business busy cadence calamitycall of dutycancankerworm of carecanto capacity care cargo carload cartload case censurability censurableness chant chapter charge chargeability chargingchest voicechorus clog coda coloratura commitment complicate complicity concern conjoin content cordage couplet cramp crate criminality cripple crosscrown of thornscrush onecrushing burdenculpability cumber

Verb(4 words)

afflicts burdened burthen charge

Strong matches (182)

cumbrance curse deadweight death decorate dedication deference demand depress destruction development devoir devotion difficultydirty handsdisadvantage discomfort disease disquiet distich

Show 121 more words

distress disturb ditto division drag drive dronedrone bassduties and responsibilitiesduty embarrass embarrassment encumber encumbrance enjoin enmesh ensnarl entangle entoil entrammel entrap entwine envoi epode essence ethics evil exact exercise exhaust exposition fag falderal falsettofasten uponfealty fetter figure fillfocus of attentionfocus of interestfolderol freightfreight withgallgall and wormwoodgistglue ongo hard withgo ill withgravamen grief grievance guilt guiltinessguilty consciencehamper hamstring handicap harmharmonic closehaul haunthaunt the memoryheadhead voiceheading heapheap upheptastich hexastich hinderhitch onhobble homage impact impeachability impeachableness impede impediment impedimenta imperative implication imposeimpose onimpose uponimposition inconvenience incubus inculpation incumbency indictability indictableness infixinflict oninflict uponinfliction interlude intermezzointroductory phraseinvolve involvement issue joinjoin withkeep busylade lading lame laylay onlevy liabilitylie onlime limit lineline of dutyliving issueloadload with care

Noun(30 words)

demon detriments drags drain drains drowning duty effect encumber encumbering encumbrance encumbrances essence foist foisting footprint galere gist hardship hardships

Show 10 more words

hassel headache headaches hump impose impositions inconveniencing incumbrance inflicting liability

Verb(10 words)

dogged encumbered encumbersexceed task capacityfreighted imposed inflicts laded ladened lades

Adjective(1 words)

hard

Related words (304)

Verb(14 words)

loaded lumbered oppresses overburdens overwhelm overwhelms saddle saddled strained straitens swamped weightweight downweighted

loading loyalty lumbermain pointmass mattermatter in handmeasure meat millstone misery mission monostich motif motive movementmusical phrasemusical sentencemust nemesis

Show 195 more words

net nubbin nuisance obligation obsess octastich octave octet onusopen woundoppress oppression ornamentottava rimaought overburden overdrive overload overtask overtax overtaxing overweigh overweight overweighting overwork packpack awaypack of troublespart passagepaste onpayload peccancypeck of troublespenalty pentastich period perturb pest pestilence phrase pile pith place plague plus pocket pointpoint at issuepoint in questionpostfix poundage prefixpress downpress hard uponpressure preyprey onproblem purport push putput downput onput to itput uponput withquantity quatrain question red-handedness refrain repeat repetend reprehensibility reproachableness reprovability reprovableness resolution respect responserest hard uponrhyme royalritornello room rubricrunning soresack saddlesaddle withsaddling scourgesea of troublessectionself-imposed dutysense septet sestet set sextet shackle ship shipload shortslap onsnarl sorrow spacespenserian stanzastack stagger stanza statement stave stick store stow stowage strain strength strophe subjectsubject mattersubject of thoughtsubject tosubjoin substance suffix superadd superincumbency superpose surcharge sweat syllabletack ontagtag ontailpiece tangle task tax taxing tercetterza rimatetrastich text theme thorn thrust tire toil tonnage topic torment trailerload trainload trammel treble triplet tristich trouble truckload trytry onetuttitutti passageundersongunite withupset upshot vanload variation verse vexation visitation vocevoce di pettovoce di testavoice volumewaters of bitternesswear outweary weighweigh downweigh heavy onweigh onweigh uponweightweight downweight down withwhite elephantwoe workyoke with

Noun(68 words)

loading loads luggingmaterial loadmillstones mouthfuls obligation onuses overburden overburdening overhang overhangs overhead overload overloads pain palanquin penance pesos pill

Show 48 more words

plagues plaguing press pressuring problemspsychological strainremora responsibility saddles schlep schlepp schlepps schleps schoolbag shlep shlepp shlepping shlepps shleps shoulder shouldering strain strains stress stresses stressing swamp swamping swamps task tasks taxer taxes tormentor tormentors traipses trammeling travailing unwieldinessweigh on scaleweighingweighing with scaleweightweight of authorityworkloads yoke yokes zukor

Determiner(3 words)

more chemistry homeworkthe coststhe costs of

Adjective(4 words)

oppressed overloadedtaxing course loadundesirable

Choosing the right synonym

Closest matches in this entry: load, onus, a lot of homework, accommodation, add.
Sentence evidence is available for burden, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, derived_reverse, moby, and related lexical sources.

Synonym selection checklist

Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "burden".
Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "burden"

Keep "burden" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.

If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.

Replacement workflow

1. Preserve meaning

Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "burden" intact in the sentence you are editing.

2. Tune tone

Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.

3. Re-read context

Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.

Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.

Final fit check

After choosing a replacement for "burden", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.

If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "burden" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

6 relation types

More general

22 entries

anxiety charge command concern demand duty headache idea import load meaning obligation require responsibility significance signification

Showing 16 of 22 words.

More specific

12 entries

academic obligationanxietyassignment loadbackpack cargoclassroom dutiesguiltheavy loadlegal obligationluggagemoral obligationstudent workload

Collocations

8 entries

administrative burdenburden of proofburden of responsibilityemotional burdenfinancial burdenheavy burdenmental burdenmoral burden

Inflections

3 entries

burdened burdening burdens

Derivations

4 entries

burdened burdening burdens burdensome

Antonyms

1 entries

unburden

Sample sentences

26 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

Education should not be a burden on the parents as well as on the children.

Source: tatoeba (19136)

Supporting his family was a great burden for him.

Source: tatoeba (24065)

Running the store is becoming a burden to him.

Source: tatoeba (44898)

That responsibility is a burden to him.

Source: tatoeba (45877)

Showing 4 of 26 available sentences.

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "burden"?

Closest matches include load, onus, a lot of homework, accommodation, add.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "burden"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "burden"

Meaning

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