onerous

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adjective oner·ous \ˈä-nə-rəs, ˈō-\

Definition of onerous

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

onerously

adverb

onerousness

noun

See onerous defined for English-language learners

See onerous defined for kids

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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

During the 1970s, our freight-rail industry struggled under the weight of onerous regulations that limited the ability of railroads to effectively manage their own operations.

— jason pye, National Review, "Deregulation Is the Key to a Successful Infrastructure Policy," 20 July 2017
What’s the point of making all these onerous rules and regulations if the companies that get the exclusive cannabis permits never plan to follow them anyway?

— chris goldstein, Philly.com, "Medical cannabis grower with Pa. permit faces investigations in other states," 13 July 2017
The FCC did not impose the most onerous Title II restrictions on ISPs.

— jon brodkin, Ars Technica, "If FCC gets its way, we’ll lose a lot more than net neutrality," 12 July 2017
Republicans have traditionally opposed them as being onerous for business or expensive for government.

— claire cain miller, The Seattle Times, "Family-friendly laws are being passed, but not by Trump’s team," 7 July 2017
Republicans and other ACA critics have argued the taxes are onerous on businesses and families.

— julie appleby, The Seattle Times, "Tax breaks promised in GOP health plans go mostly to top 1 percent," 5 July 2017
Republicans and other ACA critics have argued the taxes are onerous on businesses and families.

— julie appleby, Kaiser Health News, "What Tax Breaks? Those Promised In GOP Plans Go Mostly To Top 1%," 5 July 2017
The status quo is simply unacceptable and our members, standing together, will not give in to management’s onerous demands nor back down on our critical proposals.

— yohana desta, VanityFair.com, "The Writers‘ Strike Didn’t Happen—but an Actors‘ Strike Might," 26 June 2017
And, incredibly, government has taxed itself by charging the same onerous development fees as the private sector.

— dan mcswain, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego homeless crisis turns a corner, maybe," 25 June 2017

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

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

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

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adjective

Definition of onerous for English Language Learners

: difficult and unpleasant to do or deal with

ONEROUS Defined for Kids

onerous

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adjective oner·ous \ˈä-nə-rəs, ˈō-\

Definition of onerous for Students

: 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

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adjective oner·ous \ˈä-nə-rəs, ˈō-\

Legal Definition of onerous

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