Definition of ONEROUS

Choose the Right Synonym for onerous

onerous, burdensome, oppressive, exacting mean imposing hardship. onerous stresses being laborious and heavy especially because distasteful. the onerous task of cleaning up the mess burdensome suggests causing mental as well as physical strain. burdensome responsibilities oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed. the oppressive tyranny of a police state exacting implies rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding. an exacting employer

What is the Difference Between onerous, burdensome, oppressive?

Onerous, which traces back to the Latin onus, meaning "burden," has several synonyms. Like "onerous," "burdensome," "oppressive," and "exacting" all refer to something which imposes a hardship of some kind. "Onerous" stresses a sense of laboriousness and heaviness, especially because something is distasteful ("the onerous task of cleaning up the mess"). "Burdensome" suggests something which causes mental as well as physical strain ("the burdensome responsibilities of being a supervisor"). "Oppressive" implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed ("the oppressive tyranny of a police state"). "Exacting" suggests rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding ("an exacting employer who requires great attention to detail").

Examples of onerous in a Sentence

Then everyone was asked, how fairly did you act?, from "extremely unfairly" (1) to "extremely fairly" (7). Next they watched someone else make the assignments, and judged that person's ethics. Selflessness was a virtual no-show: 87 out of 94 people opted for the easy task and gave the next guy the onerous one. — Sharon Begley, Newsweek, 23 June 2008 The first hitch occurred when the state education department took a full six months after the new law was adopted to issue 12 pages of onerous rules and regulations governing Arkansas charter schools. — Wendy Cole, Time, 10 June 2000 Environmentalism poses stark issues of survival, for humankind and for all those other tribes of creatures over which we have exercised our onerous dominion. — Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, 1998 Rap tested well, but early on the promoters said they wouldn't be booking any gangsta rap, a move at least partly designed to calm security concerns during the onerous process of complying with the strict mass-gathering laws enacted in the wake of the 1969 festival. — John Milward, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 1994 The government imposed onerous taxes on imports. had the onerous and stressful job of notifying the families of soldiers killed in action

Recent Examples on the Web

However, the version of the tax that the City Council agreed to on Monday will be far less onerous than the draft that led Amazon to suspend construction on a new office tower in a not-so-subtle threat over providing further employment in Seattle. — David Meyer, Fortune, "Amazon 'Questions' Its Growth In Seattle After City Passes Watered-Down Tax to Help Homeless," 15 May 2018 Men are often presented as bumbling babysitters instead of caretakers — that onerous task nearly always falls on the mother. — refinery29.com, "The Movies That Get Fatherhood All Wrong — & The Ones That Get It Right," 13 June 2018 The lawsuit filed Tuesday also made public for the first time the onerous terms of the full two-part contract, which Clifford signed on Oct. 28, 2016 — days before the presidential election. — Author: Rebecca R. Ruiz, Matt Stevens, Anchorage Daily News, "Stormy Daniels sues Trump, claiming he never signed ‘hush agreement’," 7 Mar. 2018 But will onerous contracts like those of Hassan Whiteside and Tyler Johnson allow the Heat to be major player in a year? — Greg Cote, miamiherald, "Melo to Miami? How Heat’s interest in Carmelo Anthony reveals one team’s desperation," 11 July 2018 In fighting back, China could impose onerous regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles on U.S. companies’ Chinese operations. — Washington Post, "China’s bravado belies worries over trade clashes with US," 5 July 2018 At Thursday’s eurozone meeting, it was agreed that Greece has now completed its onerous program of fiscal retrenchment and economic overhauls, which was the condition of the bailout. — Nektaria Stamouli, WSJ, "Eurozone Gives Greece Some Debt Relief as Bailout Nears End," 22 June 2018 Trump’s announcement restored onerous US sanctions on Iran, including penalties for foreign companies that do business with that country. — Thomas Erdbrink, BostonGlobe.com, "Iran rallies against US and warns Europe over endangered nuclear deal," 11 May 2018 As more Americans shop online, the company’s cavernous suburban stores became outdated and the $5 billion debt from its private equity owners too onerous. — Michael Corkery, New York Times, "At Toys ‘R’ Us, ‘There Is Nothing Left’: The Day It Closed for Good," 30 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'onerous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.