onerous

adjective oner·ous \ ˈä-nə-rəs , ˈō- \

|Updated on: 22 Jun 2018

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Examples: onerous in a Sentence

Editor's Note: What is the Difference Between onerous, burdensome, oppressive?

1 : involving, imposing, or constituting a burden : troublesome

an onerous task

onerous regulations

an onerous mortgage

2 : having legal obligations that outweigh the advantages

an onerous contract

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onerously

adverb

—

onerousness

noun

See onerous defined for English-language learners

See onerous defined for kids

onerous was our Word of the Day on 07/12/2017. Hear the podcast!

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 of onerous from the Web

Its import bill, including onerous payments for oil, has expanded uncomfortably, raising its current-account deficit to 5.3% of GDP this fiscal year (which ends this month), according to Standard Chartered, a bank.

— The Economist, "Pakistan faces a currency crisis. Who will help?," 14 June 2018
But government officials have questioned issuers’ claims that some ICOs don’t involve equity stakes, and therefore are not subject to more onerous securities regulations.

— lucinda shen, Fortune, "The Price of Bitcoin Cratered in 2018. But Here's Why ICOs and VC Funding to Crypto Is Breaking Records," 1 June 2018
The rule, which took the agencies more than three years to write, has been criticized by Wall Street as onerous and harmful to the proper functioning of financial markets.

— author: emily flitter, alan rappeport, Anchorage Daily News, "Big banks will get a reprieve from a key crisis-era rule that would let them engage in riskier trading," 30 May 2018
Those backing the Crapo bill say its main purpose is to relieve community banks and credit unions — generally those with $10 billion or less in assets — from some of Dodd-Frank’s requirements that may be onerous for smaller institutions.

— emily stewart, Vox, "Congress finally found something it can agree on: helping banks," 21 May 2018
Beals said that would be financially onerous for the university.

— luke money, latimes.com, "Parking and neighborhood concerns delay Vanguard U's plans for 12 building projects," 15 May 2018
Still, an all-out ban could be onerous for the owners.

— martine powers, chicagotribune.com, "More dogs die on United than on any other airline. Here's why.," 6 Apr. 2018
Still, an all-out ban could be onerous for the owners.

— martine powers, Washington Post, "More dogs die on United than on any other airline. Here’s why.," 4 Apr. 2018
Amid fierce popular anger within Iraq at the Israeli strike, the NRI was suddenly overwhelmed with applicants after years of sometimes struggling to attract recruits due to its onerous security restraints.

— peter schwartzstein, Smithsonian, "How Saddam and ISIS Killed Iraqi Science," 30 May 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.

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").

Origin and Etymology of onerous

Middle English, from Middle French honereus, from Latin onerosus, from oner-, onus burden; akin to Sanskrit anas cart

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

onerous Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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

ONEROUS Defined for English Language Learners

onerous

adjective

: difficult and unpleasant to do or deal with

ONEROUS Defined for Kids

onerous

adjective oner·ous \ ˈä-nə-rəs , ˈō- \

: being difficult and unpleasant to do or to deal with

“… do you never find your duties onerous or irksome?”
—E. B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan

Law Dictionary

onerous

adjective oner·ous \ ˈä-nə-rəs, ˈō- \

1 : excessively burdensome or costly

2 : involving a return benefit, compensation, or consideration

an onerous donation

—used chiefly in the civil law of Louisiana — see also onerous contract at contract — compare gratuitous

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See words that rhyme with onerous Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for onerous Spanish Central: Translation of onerous Nglish: Translation of onerous for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of onerous for Arabic speakers

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Examples of onerous in a Sentence

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What is the Difference Between onerous, burdensome, oppressive?

Origin and Etymology of onerous

onerous Synonyms

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ONEROUS Defined for English Language Learners

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