1
as in loads
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 responsibilities
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 weights
to place a weight or burden on
burdened the dog with a little backpack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in troubles
to make sad
refuses to let everyday problems burden her
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burdens
Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026
So, what started as manageable balances for many people has since transformed into serious financial burdens.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
And these burdens have fallen disproportionately on ordinary citizens rather than the ruling elite.
—Kamran Talattof, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
Some communities carry far higher burdens, but our blunt national generic guidelines and policies obscure these disparities.
—Deborah L. Birx, STAT, 5 Jan. 2026
Navigating insurance policies and high deductibles that turn early prenatal visits into significant financial burdens can also be a barrier, and understandably so.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 4 Jan. 2026
Tipping fees, or the cost charged to municipalities to move waste out of the state, are increasing year after year causing financial burdens on towns, according to DEEP.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2026
The next step is to integrate the radio connections directly with GPUs, to ease cooling burdens and help data centers and the AI models running on them continue to scale up.
—Harry Goldstein, IEEE Spectrum, 1 Jan. 2026
Critics have questioned whether rapid, multi-gigawatt AI development could worsen existing environmental and public health burdens in surrounding communities.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 Dec. 2025
Michael Khouw, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
And that power burdens school districts with edicts and mandates that often discourage reform and experimentation while doing little to improve student outcomes.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Advocates say the push burdens states with duplicative verification checks and could lead people to lose coverage just for missing paperwork deadlines.
—Kff Health News, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Advocates say the push burdens states with duplicative verification checks and could lead people to lose coverage just for missing paperwork deadlines.
—Phil Galewitz, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
And that burdens a lot of our recipients.
—Ashley Lopez, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Critics of the way the administration is handling immigration enforcement have raised concerns that holding people without criminal convictions or charges unnecessarily burdens the system and pulls undocumented immigrants away from their families.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
As more states move to reduce and phase out their income taxes in the coming years, the lack of an income tax becomes less of an advantage, making the need to address relatively high property tax burdens more imperative.
—Patrick Gleason, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Why would citizens vote for someone who burdens them with regressive taxes and prioritizes labor unions and migrants over them?
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
Meanwhile, vehicle registration fees skyrocketed, taxes and fees on services ramped up and revenues continued to plummet as businesses and residents fled the oppressive burdens.
—Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 7 Jan. 2026
So, what started as manageable balances for many people has since transformed into serious financial burdens.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 7 Jan. 2026
And these burdens have fallen disproportionately on ordinary citizens rather than the ruling elite.
—Kamran Talattof, The Conversation, 6 Jan. 2026
Some communities carry far higher burdens, but our blunt national generic guidelines and policies obscure these disparities.
—Deborah L. Birx, STAT, 5 Jan. 2026
Navigating insurance policies and high deductibles that turn early prenatal visits into significant financial burdens can also be a barrier, and understandably so.
—Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 4 Jan. 2026
Tipping fees, or the cost charged to municipalities to move waste out of the state, are increasing year after year causing financial burdens on towns, according to DEEP.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2026
The next step is to integrate the radio connections directly with GPUs, to ease cooling burdens and help data centers and the AI models running on them continue to scale up.
—Harry Goldstein, IEEE Spectrum, 1 Jan. 2026
Critics have questioned whether rapid, multi-gigawatt AI development could worsen existing environmental and public health burdens in surrounding communities.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 Dec. 2025
Verb
This model enables rapid domestic and international growth without the balance-sheet intensity that burdens competitors.
—Michael Khouw, CNBC, 26 Nov. 2025
And that power burdens school districts with edicts and mandates that often discourage reform and experimentation while doing little to improve student outcomes.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
Advocates say the push burdens states with duplicative verification checks and could lead people to lose coverage just for missing paperwork deadlines.
—Kff Health News, Denver Post, 6 Nov. 2025
Advocates say the push burdens states with duplicative verification checks and could lead people to lose coverage just for missing paperwork deadlines.
—Phil Galewitz, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
And that burdens a lot of our recipients.
—Ashley Lopez, NPR, 10 Oct. 2025
Critics of the way the administration is handling immigration enforcement have raised concerns that holding people without criminal convictions or charges unnecessarily burdens the system and pulls undocumented immigrants away from their families.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
As more states move to reduce and phase out their income taxes in the coming years, the lack of an income tax becomes less of an advantage, making the need to address relatively high property tax burdens more imperative.
—Patrick Gleason, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
Why would citizens vote for someone who burdens them with regressive taxes and prioritizes labor unions and migrants over them?
—Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burdens
Verb
-
Despite taking in eight to 12 tractor trailer loads a day, Cooper said the demand for food items is greater than the supply, so the inventory is starting to shrink.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
4 Nov. 2025
-
At the Guigò Lab of the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, a technician loads a sample into a genome sequencing machine.—
Glenn Zorpette,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
That last hurdle, safely landing a SpaceX Starship HLS (Human Landing System) spacecraft, carrying two astronauts, upright on the moon, particularly troubles Green.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Rather, what troubles him are the claims that the song’s success has been manufactured.—
Melinda Newman,
Billboard,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Which is another thing that worries him.—
Joel Stein,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Stewart worries that the listings risk running afoul of copyright on product photos, or of agreements with her own suppliers — themselves mostly independent brands — that prohibit reselling products on Amazon.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The parties believe the case, which concerns CEQA requirements at the community plan level, creates more legal ambiguity for municipalities and poses a statewide threat to housing development.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
-
My question concerns the e-card version of this.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Their style of pitching — relentlessly pound the strike zone — works well in a ballpark where the thick air depresses doubles and triples.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
-
As Aerohart explains of its own device, the user simply puts the tinder – char cloth seems to be the most recommended – inside the cavity at the tip of the removable piston rod, reinstalls the piston back into the cylinder, then firmly and rapidly depresses it.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Later, in one of the movie's most satisfying scenes, Millie locks Andrew in the attic and tortures him by loudly smashing each plate.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Dec. 2025
-
The mistake tortures them, which prompts the couple to try and solve the mystery by producing a fake play in an attempt to get their ex-neighbor Mary (Chloe Cherry) to audition.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
His policies have been instrumental in dismantling the criminal enterprise that oppresses the Venezuelan people.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Burdens.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burdens. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share