1
as in load
a mass or quantity of something taken up and carried, conveyed, or transported
the early settlers often used horses to carry their burdens
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in responsibility
something one must do because of prior agreement
the burden of homework prevented the youngster from joining his friends at the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to load
to place a weight or burden on
burdened the dog with a little backpack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to trouble
to make sad
refuses to let everyday problems burden her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of burden
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 May 2026
The burden of these expectations echoes that of 1994, the only other time the United States hosted the World Cup.
—Leander Schaerlaeckens, New Yorker, 22 May 2026
Cory Turner, NPR, 14 May 2026
Instead, poor Jack is burdened with the task of telling the story of Willie Stark’s rise from the vantage of Willie Stark’s fall.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for burden
Noun
The Tallinn studio is pursuing LEED Gold certification, incorporating solar panels, geothermal energy and smart water management – efficiencies, Tartu said, translate into lower operational costs rather than additional burdens on productions.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 May 2026
The burden of these expectations echoes that of 1994, the only other time the United States hosted the World Cup.
—Leander Schaerlaeckens, New Yorker, 22 May 2026
Verb
Students are burdened with debt.
—Cory Turner, NPR, 14 May 2026
Instead, poor Jack is burdened with the task of telling the story of Willie Stark’s rise from the vantage of Willie Stark’s fall.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for burden
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burden
Noun
-
Levi’s went on a prolific streak of collaborations by releasing three collections with Nike and Jordan Brand from last July through January, and during that time and onward denim has been popping up on loads more in-line releases under the Nike umbrella.—
Ian Servantes,
Footwear News,
20 May 2026
-
The company’s earlier Flex 1 model already demonstrated strong hardware performance with 25 degrees of freedom, a 380-gram weight, 66 pounds (30 kilograms) load capacity, and 20-newton fingertip force.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
He’d been promoted to colonel after the death of Joshua Fry, but that simply meant that all the responsibility for the defeat at Fort Necessity fell on his shoulders.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
Today’s astrology could leave you mentally bouncing between practical responsibilities and the desire to completely escape reality for a few hours.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
Noun
-
Those are the choruses of some of the most popular songs by the Cocteau Twins, a band that seemed to come from out of nowhere with its own musical language, and its own deeply original way of using the English language.—
Al Shipley,
SPIN,
12 May 2026
-
The clouds are a chorus behind them.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Wallace is particularly troubled by how quickly hantavirus was incorporated into the COVID-era health conspiracies and the distrust in public health authorities that still thrive in certain online ecosystems.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
15 May 2026
-
This time, playing with the tempo Varas said would trouble Austin, SDFC owned the match via comprehensive play and goals in the eighth, 17th, 54th, 79th and 91st minutes.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Just a five-minute walk from the loading zone is the entrance to the fissure, an unassuming sliver of water that snakes between the dark volcanic rocks.—
Carinne Geil Botta,
Travel + Leisure,
16 May 2026
-
Modern Perspectives on Laundry Sorting With the growing popularity of large-capacity front-loading washers in the late 1990s, consumers welcomed the possibility of washing all of the dirty laundry in the hamper at the same time.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
On the other, employers still carry legitimate obligations to assess risk, promote workplace safety, and make informed hiring decisions.—
Alonzo Martinez,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
-
This includes the assignment of property rights, airport and airline operations, maintenance and repair obligations and financial commitments between parties.—
DJ Simmons,
Charlotte Observer,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
Gartner has warned that rising memory costs will push buyers toward premium devices and depress lower-end PC and smartphone demand.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
Is the transfer portal going to depress long-term fan interest?—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
This difference may appear modest, but in space missions, where every kilogram launched into orbit is expensive, even small reductions can translate into extra payload capacity, lower launch costs, or more operational flexibility.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
17 May 2026
-
Aimed at the defense market, the fuels could allow vehicles to fly farther while carrying heavier payloads.—
David Szondy
May 17,
New Atlas,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Burden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burden. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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